Women in Sport -Episode 13

About this episode

The episode features Ruqsana Begum discussing her journey in combat sports and advocacy for inclusivity.

Our thirteenth episode of our Women in Sport Podcast, where we discuss developments, initiatives, and issues relating to women in sports. n this episode, Partner Emma Bartlett and Associate Mitchell Blythe are joined by Ruqsana Begum, the first woman to win world titles in both professional Muay Thai and boxing and a fierce advocate for inclusivity in combat sports. Together, they explore Ruqsana’s extraordinary journey through elite sport, breaking down cultural barriers and her recent transition into acting as she appears in the MMA feature film Tramp. In this episode, they discuss: • Breaking into combat sports as a British Muslim Bangladeshi woman, navigating cultural expectations and going from training in secret to finding identity, presence and confidence through martial arts. • A trailblazing career, from Muay Thai world champion to WBU World Boxing Champion, including her experiences becoming captain of the British Muay Thai team and carrying the Olympic Torch at the London Olympics in 2012. • Challenging discrimination in sport, including clothing restrictions, licensing barriers, and why Ruqsana continues to speak openly about racism and gender bias in the governing…

People in this episode

Hosts: Emma Bartlett, Mitchell Blythe

Guest: Ruqsana Begum

Topics covered

• women in sports
• combat sports
• cultural barriers
• inclusivity
• discrimination
• female representation

Keywords

• Muay Thai
• boxing
• cultural expectations
• Olympic Torch
• sports hijabs
• gender bias
• resilience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Embrace Boxing

Books & works: Tramp

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