When girls feel safe, they are far more likely to stay in school, delay marriage, and pursue their goals without fear holding them back.

Just over a year ago, our partner organization in Ethiopia, Girls Gotta Run Foundation (GGRF), asked our help to pilot a new initiative for their athletic scholars programme – self-defence training for the girls as part of important life skills learning.

Self-defence was requested by the mothers of the girls, who were worried about a recent rise in ‘telefa’ (abduction), a traditional practice where men kidnap girls, rape them, and then legally and culturally claim them as wives. Telefa has received international attention due to the brave actions of girls who stood up for themselves, and women who supported them, such as depicted in the 2014 film ‘Difret’. The practice is prevalent particularly in the Southern region (where the GGRF Soddo programme is), with estimates that 1 in 5 child marriages are directly because of it.

Fearing for their daughters’ safety as they walk long distances to and from school, the mothers are hoping that basic self-defence could help act as a deterrent. One mother, Mebrat, told how she was abducted as a girl and later abandoned as a pregnant young woman. She is raising her daughter alone, working as a hairdresser. “Now I want better for my daughter than the life I had. My dream is that my daughter will choose her own path, as I was not allowed to do,” she said.

After a micro-grant of $4000 to kick-start the initiative, we followed up with a larger impact grant to strengthen the sustainability of the work, and to ensure the girls would be able to practice consistently to develop their skills.

GGRF is partnering with the Studio Samuel Foundation (SSF, based in Addis Ababa) to carry out the training. SSF provides disadvantaged women and girls with vocational training, after-school tutoring, and leadership development, and in addition, has a signature martial arts and mental health programme, led by a former SSF student, which helps girls build confidence, discipline, resilience, and agency. The pilot activity was a four day workshop in Soddo with intensive training for a GGRF coach on taekwondo-based self-defense skills, hands-on training for 50 girls led by SSF instructors, and a series of lessons on resilience, situational awareness, boundary-setting and self-advocacy to highlight the importance of the mental and emotional aspects of self-defense. Practice has continued, with guidance from SSF, and another intensive workshop will be held in November 2025 to re-inforce learning.