Boxgirls
Our Gym
Our Rules
Our Community
Why We Started
Boxgirls was conceived in response to a persistent global challenge: girls and young women in the 2000s faced a lack of quality, well-coached boxing gyms and were often met with patronizing, ineffective trainers and sexist stereotypes. Fighting sports and martial arts are great low-barrier tools for women and girls to develop healthy relationships with their bodies and build communities for change. Martial arts and boxing, as tools for self-defense, were also accepted in communities that could otherwise be skeptical of girls and young women doing sports after puberty. This was an issue in part of the Muslim community in Berlin. Boxing (unlike swimming or other sports) was accepted as a physical activity because one could be modestly dressed and it served personal dignity. Humanitarian organizations also know that involving more women in community decision-making (also in the male-dominated sport spaces in Europe) makes for better, more sustainable decisions. Cameron herself was a boxer and knew the power to build healthy habits, bodies and communities.
What We Do
Boxgirls was started by Heather Cameron in Berlin and developed by a driven group of volunteers who wanted to create gyms where they and others could train in a feminist, anti-racist and welcoming environment and develop power in their community for girls and women. It is committed to training competitive boxers and developing trainers and referees for local associations, but most importantly providing girls and women (and later the wider queer community) with opportunities to develop leadership skills, political engagement and support for healthy inclusive communities.
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Boxgirls was designed as a community-led, sport-based intervention that integrated boxing training with community development and social change. The core idea is simple but powerful: by creating effective structured environments where girls can train, build physical strength, and develop leadership skills, it is possible to shift both individual trajectories and community direction. Rather than imposing a top-down model, Boxgirls worked with local partners, trainers, and communities to co-create programs. This allowed the initiative to scale across different geographies while maintaining a strong connection to local needs and realities.
What We Built
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Boxgirls delivers a range of activities designed to support both individual development and broader community impact, including:
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Regular boxing training sessions providing structured physical activity and a fun space for girls to build leadership skills and resilience
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Workshops and facilitated sessions focused on leadership, education, reproductive health, and community safety
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Training and capacity-building for local coaches and facilitators, enabling programs to be delivered sustainably within communities
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Community engagement and outreach, working with families and local stakeholders to shift perceptions and build alliances around girls' participation in sport, education and health
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Partnerships with schools, NGOs, and local organizations to embed programs within existing community structures
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Events and campaigns to raise awareness around community issues: safety, girls' education, health, political participation
What Came Out Of It
Boxgirls athlete Elizabeth Adhiambo represented Kenya at the London Olympic Games in 2012.
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Boxgirls South Africa was externally evaluated by the German National Sports University using a randomized controlled trial - one of the first sports-for-development programs to undergo this rigorous evaluation method. The report found that the program, delivered to girls in Grade 5 in schools in the informal settlement of Khayelitsha, showed highly significant changes in academic performance, self-efficacy and violence prevention techniques.
Recognition
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The IOC, UN Women, and Women Win have cited Boxgirls as a model for sport and social development. NHK Japan made a 60-minute documentary in 2012, and Vox, Broadly, and PBS did longer features on Boxgirls Kenya. Every major German broadcaster covered the work, and Boxgirls South Africa has been featured on national SABC television, Deutsche Welle, and multiple local and national radio stations. The German Bundestag selected Boxgirls as a model project for the UN Year of Physical Education and Sport, while the project teams in Kenya and South Africa have received many awards of their own.
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Boxgirls facilitators have taught at over a dozen UN Office for Sport for Development and Peace Young Leaders workshops bringing sports leaders from various regions together for an intensive week of program and coach development.
