Parkour has gained a foothold in Iran — and not only among the usual young male aficionado. There are a lot of girls practicing it, and AFP recently run a little story about it.

The experience of parkour, in their words, is:

“I am really stressed out because of my studies but parkour helps me a lot to deal with the stress. I feel happy.”

“There was a jump I couldn’t do at first … learning it made me realise I am capable of doing anything and defeating any obstacle. I feel free.”

“Practising parkour shows that even if you are a woman, you are not bound to stay at home.” 

“Sometimes people criticise us saying this isn’t a sport for girls. They say we’re supposed to knit … They can’t imagine a girl exercising like a boy.”

“We encounter problems but we try our best to cope with them because we love doing parkour.”

Photos © AFP