Meet the female Ethiopian skaters carving out a space to practice and bond in a society that does not always offer women freedom of movement. Learn about their story through the VogueGlobalWomen series
It started, as so many things do these days, on social media and messaging apps. The wording on the flyer, shared on Instagram and Telegram messenger, was simple: “Free skateboarding lessons for girls.”
A few dozen women and girls, mostly between the ages of 10 and 25, showed up at Addis Skate Park for the first session. Challa had helped to build that park with her own hands, a few years earlier, back when she appeared to be the onlyon the scene in the Ethiopian capital city. On that first day, Challa showed the new skaters how to put on knee pads, elbow pads, and helmets, and then put them on the boards.
As much as she loved skateboarding, Challa never felt fully comfortable at the park. She felt she didn’t have the physical or emotional space to focus and practice. At this point, she was a solid skater—using the board to commute around the capital—and she knew from experience that both men and women sometimes bridled at seeing her. “People would say to me, ‘You’re a woman, you should be helping your mother,’” Challa says.