DISCOVER ETHIOPIA'S FIRST ALL-FEMALE SKATEBOARDING GROUP
Every Saturday morning, at the Addis Skate Park in Ethiopia’s capital city, countless girls gather to skateboard. That wasn't always the case, particularly given how frequently skateboarding has been linked to guys. However, the park's demographics gradually started to change after 27-year-old Sosina Challa created Ethiopian Girl Skaters (EGS). EGS, one of the first female-only skateboarding groups in the nation, challenges misconceptions about skateboarding while providing its members with a strong feeling of camaraderie.
“I had no idea how [EGS] would go, how people would see it, if people would consider it acceptable,” Challa reflected in a 2022 interview with Vogue. “People would say to me, ‘You’re a woman, you should be helping your mother.’”
Since she was one of the few girls who would visit the Addis Skate Park, Challa found it difficult to feel comfortable there prior to starting EGS. After a while, the uneasiness led her to collaborate with Ethiopia Skate, a small nonprofit organisation that also supports skateboarders nationwide, to create an exclusive all-female club. Even though only a few dozen women and girls participated in the EGS's inaugural session a few years ago, they were nevertheless interested in learning how to balance on a board and put on protective pads.
“People wanted to know what it felt like, and they wanted to get past their fear,” Challa says.
In addition to skateboarding, EGS offers one-on-one learning and counselling sessions, and it currently has over 65 registered members. EGS's environment is unmistakably one of empowerment, inspiring its participants to consider skating as a means of self-expression as well as a sport or pastime.
“When I skate, I dream big, and at the same time, I feel as though I have accomplished my dream,” Hiwot Hassen told Unicef in an article about the group.
“I believe skateboarding changed my life,” Denkneh Seble added. “Each person has unique traits and comes from a diverse background with colourful histories. A day with them is a day I never want to miss.”