Every Saturday morning, at the Addis Skate Park in Ethiopia’s capital city, countless girls gather to skateboard. That wasn’t always the case, especially because skateboarding has so often been associated with men. But once 27-year-old Sosina Challa founded Ethiopian Girl Skaters (EGS), the demographics of the park slowly began to shift. Now, as one of the country’s first female-only skateboarding groups, EGS offers its members a palpable sense of community, all while challenging stereotypes surrounding skateboarding.
“I had no idea how [EGS] would go, how people would see it, if people would consider it acceptable,” Challa reflected in a 2022 interview with Vogue. “People would say to me, ‘You’re a woman, you should be helping your mother.’”
Before founding EGS, Challa struggled to feel at ease at the Addis Skate Park—she was, after all, one of very few girls that would frequent the park. Eventually, the discomfort prompted her to work with Ethiopia Skate, a small nonprofit also dedicated to skateboarders across the country, to establish a separate all-female group. During the EGS’ first session a couple of years ago, only a few dozen women and girls joined, but they were still curious about how to put on protective pads and balance on a board.
“People wanted to know what it felt like, and they wanted to get past their fear,” Challa says.
Today, EGS boasts over 65 registered members and, in addition to skateboarding, it also provides activities such as one-on-one learning and counseling sessions. The atmosphere fostered by EGS is clearly one of empowerment, encouraging its members to explore skateboarding not only as a sport or hobby but also as a form of personal expression.
“When I skate, I dream big, and at the same time, I feel as though I have accomplished my dream,” Hiwot Hassen told Unicef in an article about the group.
“I believe skateboarding changed my life,” Denkneh Seble added. “Each person has unique traits and comes from a diverse background with colorful histories. A day with them is a day I never want to miss.”
To learn more about this extraordinary community, check out the Ethiopian Girl Skaters on Instagram.
Ethiopian Girl Skaters is one of Ethiopia’s first female-only skateboarding groups.
The group empowers its members to explore skateboarding not only as a sport or hobby but as a form of personal expression.
Together, they challenge stereotypes surrounding skateboarding as a male-dominated sport, as well as cultural and societal expectations placed on women.
“When I skate, I dream big, and at the same time, I feel as though I have accomplished my dream,” one of the group’s members says.
Another EGS member says: “I believe skateboarding changed my life.”
Ethiopian Girl Skaters: Instagram
Sources: On Saturday Mornings in the Ethiopian Capital City, A Skate Park of Their Own; Ethiopia’s skater girls: ‘Someone had to be the first’; Freedom on skateboard takes girls to new heights
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