I'm a champion boxer, but couldn't tell my mum

Ramla Ali was a baby when her older brother was killed by a stray grenade in the garden of her family home in Mogadishu, Somalia, during the civil war. To keep the rest of their family safe, her parents fled the country via a perilous boat crossing to Kenya, where Ramla almost died. They eventually got to London and Ramla grew up being bullied and becoming overweight. To help build her confidence, her mum signed her up for a gym, which is where Ramla discovered a boxercise class by chance. Soon she was boxing at every available opportunity. Ramla knew her parents wouldn’t approve, so she kept it secret, even when she won national titles and was one of the best boxers in the UK. She would go on to reinstate boxing in Somalia, where the sport had been banned since 1976, become famous after bringing an international gold medal to the country and be the first Somali boxer to compete at the Olympic Games. Ramla recently returned from her first trip back to Somalia since she left where she was met by thousands of fans at the airport and even met the President.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Emily Naylor

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(Photo: Ramla Ali looking proud with a visibly bruised face and smiling at the camera. She's holding a gold belt that says 'Intercontinental Champion' from the International Boxing Federation. Credit: Courtesy of Ramla Ali)