- Title: UAE-TEENAGE WRESTLER Dubai teen breaks taboos as first Arab female wrestler
- Date: 20th October 2015
- Summary: DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (OCTOBER 18, 2015) (REUTERS) DUBAI GYM AND WRESTLING RING WHERE WRESTLER GHEEDA CHAMSADDINE, KNOWN AS 'JOELLE HUNTER' TRAINS VARIOUS OF CHAMSADDINE SITTING ON EDGE OF RING AND TALKING TO TRAINER CALEB HALL VARIOUS OF CHAMSADDINE WRESTLING WITH A COLLEAGUE IN THE RING WRESTLERS STANDING AT EDGE OF RING WATCHING THE TRAINING SESSION AND TALKING (S
- Embargoed: 4th November 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Arab Emirates
- Country: United Arab Emirates
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA98NG6QMPLG5F65QOZSDH8NXAC
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Gheeda Chamsaiddine is no ordinary 17-year-old Lebanese teen. She spends her spare time in the ring with often much bigger and stronger men, picking them up and throwing them down.
Better known by her stage name, Joelle Hunter, Chamsaiddine is the Arab world's first female wrestler and her goal is to bring women's wrestling into the mainstream in the Middle East.
"I want to create the first ever female division in the Arab region. I want female wrestling to exist in the Arab region," said Chamsaiddine.
"I don't want to walk in here and then walk out without achieving anything because you know they say when you walk into a place, always leave it a little different when you leave, and that's what I'm gonna do," she said speaking at the gym where she trains in Dubai.
Chamsaiddine began wrestling only last year but has already made a name for herself in the young but growing wrestling industry in the Arab world.
Born to Lebanese parents, Chamsaiddine was raised in Saudi Arabia and now lives in Dubai, both conservative Islamic societies where culture and tradition often deter young women from pursuing sports that require intense physical contact with the opposite sex.
For now, Chamsaiddine seems undeterred by criticisms and cultural taboos and has chosen to pursue wrestling as a career.
"It is a little difficult you know because people keep criticizing, it gets to you sometimes, but as long as you know you keep moving forward with what you wanna do then that's what matters," she said.
The young wrestler used to fight publicly in shorts and cropped t-shirts, star-studded stockings and heavy winged eyeliner. Today she says, she chooses a slightly less provocative outfit, keeping the flare but with long trousers instead.
It's "more respectful" of the local culture she said, noting that she wants people to focus on her fighting, not on her clothing.
So far, the teenage wrestler only competes locally in Dubai but hopes to reach the big leagues, mainly the WWE, the World Wrestling Entertainment, the world's primary professional wrestling entity.
Her trainer and fellow wrestlers say she's just like one of the "guys".
"You know she says she was a bit shy in the beginning. I didn't notice that. She jumped right in there and was getting punched and kicked and thrown around just like one of the guys pretty much straight off the bat," said former professional wrestler and trainer Caleb Hall.
Her rival is Lebanese Michael "The Vigilante" Nasif. They often exchange words and punches both in and out of the ring, all part of the show.
"She looks like a girl. She is a girl. But she doesn't fight like one, I'll tell you that. When she goes in the ring with anybody, no matter who it is no matter how big they are she equals them with her ferociousness," said Nasif.
"She's very fierce in the ring, she's very strong, she's very passionate about this, so it's just the same as facing anybody else," he added during a recent training session in Dubai.
Chamsaiddine is committed to not only taking down her opponents but also breaking new ground for young Arab women who once may have been deterred by more conservative cultural and religious traditions.
"We're aware of the difference in culture and the society here and we try to be respectful of that as much as we possibly can," said Caleb echoing Chamsaiddine's views.
"But there's a lot of women now who are interested in doing this and she's really the one that's taking the first step and saying hay, you know, I'm gonna do this, it's OK, come and join me," he said.
In a sense, Chamsaiddine needs to be even tougher, stronger and faster than her western counterparts because she doesn't have the opportunity of wrestling with other women, since so far she's the only woman in the ring.
Wrestling as a sport remains in its infancy in the Arab world but Hall says it's growing slowly but steadily and soon he hopes to be taking Joelle on fighting tours in the region. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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