Breaking Out of the Cage

The Hazara ethnic minority have endured decades of sectarian violence in western Pakistan. In the winter of 2013, more than 200 people died in targeted bomb attacks. Many of the Hazara women were caught up in the violence, and many lost friends and family. Today the community lives in isolated ghettos, cordoned off by checkpoints. But now Hazara women are fighting back, competing at the highest level in karate, despite the social restrictions they face. This is their story.