THE French Embassy, in collaboration with the Alliance Française in Dar es Salaam, has launched an exhibition project dubbed ‘Boxing Queens’ aiming at bringing Tanzanian female boxers to the fore of one of the main thoroughfares of the city.

The two-year exhibition project led by Delphine Blast, was launched in Dar es Salaam yesterday at the French Embassy.

 Giving remarks during the launch, Nabil Hajlaoui, French Ambassador to Tanzania, said in Tanzania, boxing is becoming increasingly popular and that most women are practising the sport with the hope of making a career out of it.

“Boxing Queen is a project focusing on the empowerment of these young Tanzanian women through sport. This work is inspired by the lives of a dozen boxers in their process towards professionalism,” he said.

He also pointed out that the project launch was a favourable opportunity for female boxers because French will be hosting the Olympics in Paris a move that will give them a chance to share the values of sports.

He also underlined that President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s visit to Paris, co-chairing the Global Clean Cooking Energy Summit, has also given an opportunity to men and women to foster development with sports inclusive.

According to him, beyond the ability to defend themselves, boxing enables these women to regain their self-confidence and make boxing a genuine means of social emancipation.

 Delphine, an artist photographer of the ‘Boxing Queen’ project, has for a long time been following these athletes during their training sessions and competitions, as well as in their daily lives to understand their motivations and obstacles they face in choosing boxing.

 Delphine’s interest in boxing turned to East Africa and Tanzania -Arusha in particular - from 2023 with now continuing in Dar es Salaam.

 “More and more young Tanzanian women are taking up this sport and dreaming of making it their career. ‘Boxing Queens’ is an exhibition focused on the emancipation of young Tanzanian women through sport, which documents the lives of female boxers in the process of becoming professionals,” said Delphine.

 According to her, much as the practice is noble, it is those who sign and persist become models and agents of change in their community and are a true source of inspiration for many young sportswomen.

Lukelo Willilo, president of the Tanzania Boxing Federation, applauded efforts shown to Tanzanian boxers considering it as an initiative that will encourage them and feel part of the sport.

 Leyla Yusuph, a ‘Boxing Queen’ member, said that joining the project has been a big opportunity that they will always appreciate.

 “Other girls should see the opportunity. We should see the opportunity and utilise it when people volunteer to support those in need,” she stressed.

Promoting women’s participation in sports is one of France's priorities. From the challenge of ensuring women’s rights to participate in sports in all its dimensions, the policy of increasing the number of women in sports is evolving towards the challenge of real equality between women and men.