Don’t ask boxing world-champion Ramla Ali to teach a class of unruly children, it’s not her thing. ‘In 2018, I got my qualification to start teaching and I really wanted to start volunteering. I started teaching kids and I think lasted one session,’ she laughs. But never one to quit, Ali changed her focus. She made a flyer advertising a new boxing class just for women and started handing them out at local mosques and around women’s shelters in the Lambeth area of south London, where she was based at the time. ‘The birth of Sisters Club had begun,’ she says.
Over the next few years Sisters Club would grow. Her troop of trainers now teach a proud community of fighters across the UK and the US. ‘Sisters Club is a weekly self-defence class that teaches the art of boxing to woman,’ Ali explains of her mission. ‘The club allows them to train in a safe space, free of men and creates a bond of sisterhood as a result.’
Sarah Aubel / Agent Mel
Some that attend the classes have suffered from domestic violence and are looking to learn to defend themselves, others are Muslim women hoping for a space to train with or without their hijabs, but many are simply enjoying the solidarity the classes provide. ‘These women are always willing to learn, want to listen, want to get better. There’s no better feeling than being a teacher and someone taking a genuine interest in what you’re doing and what you’re teaching,’ Ali says.
Today, Ali is in Paris to celebrate the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards. She’s worked with the brand for over three years and they now support Sisters Club so she is taking a break from her training programme to be at the event. ‘I rarely have the opportunity to get dressed up because I’m always in [training] camp and sweaty. But who doesn’t like getting pampered and looking cute?’ she laughs.
Beyond attending the glamourous gala alongside Amal Clooney and Yara Shahidi to celebrate the 32 incredible women being honoured for their works as change makers, the highlight of the trip for Ali will be teaching a special Sisters Club class to some of the women awardees. ‘I’m sure they will all be very inspiring,’ she says of the entrepreneur winners.
Sarah Aubel / Agent Mel
This will be her first Sisters Club in Paris, and the significance isn’t lost on Ali. ‘It’s cool that it’s coming to a city like Paris that has a lot of Muslim women. [Sisters Club] isn’t just for Muslim women – it’s for anyone – but they are one of the groups that find it the hardest to get access to sport. I hope we can open and start a class here more regularly.’
There’s no better feeling than being a teacher
Soon Sisters Club will launch their first line of T-shirts and sweatshirts to raise money for the charitable arm of the project, and already the pieces are becoming this summer’s cult item. ‘Jodie Turner Smith asked me for one. And the singer Tiwa Savage,’ Ali says with pride. ‘With all the donations made to Sisters Club, we were able to help 50 aspiring young amateur boxers in the US get to their national tournaments. It’s such an expensive sport but, with help, we’re able to help girls compete.’
Ali has recently moved to Los Angeles to be closer to her own trainer. ‘LA is nice,’ she says. ‘The weather’s beautiful. My coach lives there and I said to myself, “Boxing is not forever so use the time you have left to just give 100%.” It was hard to leave home and not see my mum and my family as much because we’re tight. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the things you love. Muhammad Ali has the best quote: “Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” I say this as sit here getting a manicure,’ she laughs.
Sarah Aubel / Agent Mel
Next, will comes a film of her life called In the Shadows with actor Letitia Wrightconfirmed to step into the ring to play Ali. The drama will tell Ali’s story: fleeing Somalia with her family as a young girl, seeking asylum from the civil war in London, keeping her love of boxing a secret from her family and, throughout it all, her determination to win. ‘I had always thought of Letitia as the dream actor to do the part,’ she says. ‘Letitia came straight up to me at an Alexander McQueen fashion show and said, “Are you Ramla? Are you Richard [Ali’s husband]? I love you guys.’ From there that was it. We became friends and not long after our first meeting she was reading the script and flying to New York to sit ringside and watch me fight. Her spirit, character and personality, the way she holds herself within her own career is so closely aligned to my own, it’s a perfect fit.’
Sarah Aubel / Agent Mel
Sarah Aubel / Agent Mel
But first her focus must stay on her next fight. Ali will likely head to New Orleans this month to fight Mexican boxer Julissa Alejandra Guzman. ‘During fight week, honestly, I’m the moodiest person in the world,’ she says. ‘You can’t eat properly, there’s no salt in your food. All you want to do is hang out in your room, and just be with yourself. But after you’ve had your fight, it’s always nice to see the city.’ As for her prediction on the result? ‘Always positive. The result is winning.’
It’s such an expensive sport but, with help, we’re able to help girls compete
As for Sisters Club, her ambitions are global. ‘I’d love to open it up to the Middle East. When I fought in Saudi it was so hard to use a gym because I was a woman and men and women can’t train together. So, starting up a Sisters Club gym where women can train would be amazing. World domination is coming!’
BY Cartier supports Sisters Club for more information go to: https://ramlaalisistersclub.com and to apply to be part of the Cartier Women’s Initiative next year go here.
