AFP, NEW DELHIThey train with swords and fighting fans after their prayers and morning chants. Meet the Himalayan kung fu nuns using their martial arts skills to challenge stereotypes about women’s roles in the region’s patriarchal societies. “Kung fu has helped us in taking a stand on gender equality, as we feel more confident, we feel strong physically and mentally. We are doing kung fu as an example for other girls.”The nuns are from the 800-strong Druk Amitabha Mountain Nunnery in Nepal and belong to the centuries-old Drukpa Order of Tibetan Buddhism. Most recently, they completed a three-month, 8,370km “bicycle yatra (journey) for peace” from Nepal to the mountains of Ladakh in northern India, where they passed through villages and spread their messages of gender equality and empowerment.
