In its today’s edition, Al Akhbar spotlighted Syrian international female boxing champion, Azza Atura (born in 1974) who won her latest title as the World Class Kickboxing Champion in Russia back in 2010. But due to the recent conflict in her country, Atura, who boasts around 8 world titles, decided to quit sports but to not stop her undertakings, Al Akhbar wrote. Atura wanted to transform her sports activities into community service by instructing and training people on self- defense disciplines. In an interview with the newspaper, Atura said “she invested her skill in sports to custom-make a formula for our region, given the particular features it enjoys, as well as the disparities in knowledge, on the individual and societal levels. She said she named her training program ‘Izzati’ (my pride) and chose a slogan that rhymes with it, ‘Community pride is the pride of individuals’. She sought to expand the segment of society which is familiar with and responsive to the notion of self-defense and self-protection. Atura stated that society was never a problem and did not stop her from realizing her ambitions at any stage, stressing that she did not compromise about one of her greatest childhood passions which is community service and the breaking of stereotypes of the submissive and conformist woman. (Al Akhbar, January 10, 2020)