Women Across the World Are Using Ancient Martial Arts to Empower & Protect Themselves

In much of Egypt and the Philippines, life for women isn’t easy. A 2017 survey by U.N. Women and Promundo revealed that nearly 60% of Egyptian women have been sexually harassed, while a Reuters poll named Cairo “the most dangerous megacity in the world for women based on lack of protection from sexual violence, harmful cultural practices, and poor access to healthcare and finance.” Meanwhile, the Philippines has an extensive history of practicing self-defense. Natives developed fighting techniques, now known as Filipino Martial Arts (FMA), to ward off attackers from local tribes and foreign invaders from Spain, the United States, and Japan. The tradition of FMA has inspired two U.S.-based