Athena Bashar is a former Fight for Peace member and currently leads on the delivery of our all-women boxing sessions. She is also the founder of Modest Moves, a boxing organisation that aims to empower women through boxing and fitness.
Athena began attending Fight for Peace when she was 14 years old, and having never boxed before she threw herself right into the women-only sessions. Before she knew it, she was having conversations with coaches about competing after watching one of our home boxing shows and being inspired by her peers. She then went on to represent Fight for Peace in a series of amateur bouts, and continued to progress to become a coach herself.
Inspired by Athena’s journey, the Fight for Peace Young Creatives team have been working hard to tell a piece of her story as part of a National Lottery Heritage funded project, ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’ – a series of short documentaries focusing on three former Fight for Peace members who have gone on to thrive in their chosen careers.
This isn’t the first Young Creatives project Athena has been a part of. She was also the co-host of our podcast, LutaPod – providing a space for young women and girls to discuss and share their thoughts, views and experiences in sport, with the aim being to positively influence how women and girls are viewed and received in sport by the wider public.
As a young Muslim woman running Modest Moves, her own boxing business, Athena has already created a name for herself which reflects her power and determination to empower women and girls to be able to access sport.
For our creative team, Zaynab Alom and Aladdin Benberna, documenting this story and diving into how she found such a passion for it was a no-brainer. The talented duo have been working together over the past month to tell Athena’s story, and when asked what was most exciting about the project, Zaynab shared:
“I’m excited for the audience to get insight from a Fight for Peace member who started off as anyone else would, and went on to build their confidence and courage and become someone who is now running their own classes with Modest Moves!”
Through this exciting film, we not only want to explore the possibilities for women in sport through Athena’s eyes, but use it as a means to inspire and encourage people of all genders to work in unity to break down the barriers women and girls face in accessing sport, which Athena talks more about in the documentary.
“I think it will be really nice to see my progress, from the beginning to the end. Especially as I started out as a young person not knowing how to box, and then went into competing, and then finding coaching,” Athena shared with the production crew post-shoot.
“It kind of feels like a little circle of life, so putting it into a documentary… I just can’t wait to see it!”
It’s fair to say that we are all excited to release this film into the world in the hope that it can inspire more women and girls to participate in sport, as well as encourage people from all backgrounds and genders to consider what is needed in society to create a safer, more welcoming space for women and girls to reach their sporting potential.
Athena is only at the beginning of her journey as a coach, and at the age of 22 has already achieved so much – so watch this space!
“The message I want to share with the world is for all the women. Believe in yourself, you do have the ability and capability to do this, so don’t let society get to you, saying that this isn’t what you should be doing,” Athena told us.
“And for the men, I want them to learn not to judge women for trying to better themselves physically and mentally.”
Athena’s film will be released in October, so follow Fight for Peace on YouTube and Instagram so you don’t miss it. In the meantime, you can catch up on all of our LutaPod episodes here.
To find out how you can get involved in Modest Moves boxing sessions, please visit @modestmoves_ on Instagram and drop them a DM!