Kabul: In Kabul, a group of young Afghan women have taken up taekwondo, a Korean martial art and combat sport.
They train at the Kahkashan Martial Arts sports club in western Kabul, and dream of someday competing on the international level.
The sport is giving women confidence in a country where gender discrimination has deep cultural and historical roots.
"It gives me the assurance that I am a sportswoman and can easily walk out in the city without any tension," says Amina Bahaduri a red belt taekwondo student.
She was fascinated by the sport after realising the need to learn self-defence in order to be able to carry out her daily routine without fear.
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She has been training at the Kahkashan club for the last three years and says taekwondo has boosted her self-confidence.
She no longer worries when she goes out alone and the love of the sport has given her the chance to dream big.
She wants to win medals for her country in international sports competitions, but her dream does not stop there.
"I want to be the first female sportswoman to become a president," she adds.
The Kahkashan club started enlisting female trainees willing to learn taekwondo in 2016.
Now, around 80 young girls and women attend training sessions led by a male instructor, Khuda Dad Sadiqi.
Most of Sadiqi's students are between 7 to 20 years old, too young to have a memory of the Taliban, whose repressive rule lasted until the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
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Since last year's U.S.-Taliban agreement paved the way for peace talks, women in Afghanistan have grown worried that they will lose some of the rights and freedoms they have gained over the past two decades.
But Sadiqi is not worried about the future of Afghan women, saying "they (women) won't allow anyone to undermine their rights."
Under the Taliban, women were not allowed to go to school, work outside the home or leave their house without a male escort.
And though they still face many challenges, Afghan women are increasingly stepping into their own power in this male-dominated society, finding a voice even in sports.
Taekwondo made its debut as a demonstration Olympic sport at the 1988 Seoul Games, and became an official medal sport at the 2000 Sydney Games, according to Olympic Games official website.
The sport thrived in Afghanistan after Rohulla Nikpai represented Afghanistan twice in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and won the bronze medal on both occasions.
