Hazara women and girls practise Shaolin martial arts in Kabul hills – in pictures

In this reflection, Shaolin martial arts students can be seen training at their club in Kabul on January 25, 2017. Massoud Hossaini / AP Photos

Ms Azimi, who is originally from Jaghuri in central Afghanistan, is training nine students in the martial arts to prepare for Olympic competitions. Massoud Hossaini / AP Photos

When they aren’t training on the snow-covered hills that surround Kabul, the students practise in a grungy, dark club financed by a young cinema actor. Massoud Hossaini / AP Photos

Most of the students are teenagers, while a few of the older students study in universities. Massoud Hossaini / AP Photos

Ms Azimi says it was difficult to find all the tools needed to train. For instance, she had to order her Shaolin sword from Iran, where she studied the art for three years. Massoud Hossaini / AP Photos

At first the women were unable to find Shaolin uniforms, but, undeterred, they designed uniforms themselves and had them made by a Kabul tailor. Massoud Hossaini / AP Photos

Ms Azimi is also training her students in Shaolin martial arts so they can protect themselves on the streets of Kabul, where women are routinely harassed. Massoud Hossaini / AP Photos

‘Some of my students’ families had problems accepting their girls studying Wushu (martial arts), says Ms Azimi. ‘But I went to their home and talked to their parents.’ Massoud Hossaini / AP Photos

One of the students practises with a Shaolin sword on a hilltop in the Afghan capital on January 25, 2017. Massoud Hossaini / AP Photos

They are preparing for the day that Afghanistan can send its women’s team to the Shaolin world championship in China.