A Shaolin martial arts student practices on a hilltop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. The students are preparing for the day that Afghanistan can send its women’s team to the Shaolin world championship in China. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





Shaolin martial arts students follow their trainer, Sima Azimi, 20, in black, during a practice session on a hilltop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. The ten ethnic Hazara women and girls practice the martial arts of Shaolin on a hilltop in the west of Kabul. They are preparing for the day that Afghanistan can send its women’s team to the Shaolin world championship in China. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





A Shaolin martial arts student practices the splits on a hilltop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. In religiously conservative Afghanistan, girls are often discouraged from aggressive sports. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





Shaolin martial arts trainer, Sima Azimi, 20, performs on a hilltop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. Azimi said it was difficult to find all the tools needed to train. For instance, she had to order her Shaolin sword from Iran, where she had studied the art for three years. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





Shaolin martial arts students practice on a hilltop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. Teacher Sima Azimi, 20, not pictured, who is originally from Jaghuri in central Afghanistan, trains nine students in the martial arts to prepare for Olympic competitions, but also to protect themselves on the streets of Kabul, where women are routinely harassed. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





Shaolin martial arts students practice on a hilltop in the snow, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. The ten ethnic Hazara women are preparing for the day that Afghanistan can send its women’s team to the Shaolin world championship in China. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





Shaolin martial arts students follow their trainer, Sima Azimi, 20, in black, during a training session on a hilltop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. Sima Azimi, 20, who is originally from Jaghuri in central Afghanistan, trains nine students in the martial arts to prepare for Olympic competitions, but also to protect themselves on the streets of Kabul, where women are routinely harassed. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





Shaolin martial arts students and their trainer have a snowball fight after their training session in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. The ten ethnic Hazara women and girls practice the martial arts of Shaolin on a hilltop in the west of Kabul. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





In this reflection Shaolin martial arts students train at their club in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. When they aren’t training on the snow covered hills that surround Kabul, the students train in a grungy, dark club financed by a young cinema actor. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





A Shaolin martial arts student talks on her phone, during a pause in a training session at their club in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





A Shaolin martial arts student prepares to practice at her club in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. At first the women could not find Shaolin uniforms, but, undeterred, they designed and ordered uniforms made by a Kabul tailor. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





Shaolin martial arts students train at their club in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. Most of the students are teenagers, while a few of the older students study in universities. The head trainer, Azimi charges between $2 and $5 a month depending on what they can afford. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





Shaolin martial arts students practice at their club in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. When they aren’t training on the snow covered hills that surround Kabul, the students train in the grungy, dark club financed by a young cinema actor. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





Shaolin martial arts students practice at their club in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017. They are preparing for the day that Afghanistan can send its women’s team to the Shaolin world championship in China. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





A Shaolin Wushu martial arts student practices on a hilltop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, January 25, 2017, preparing for the day that Afghanistan can send its women’s team to the Shaolin world championship in China. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





In this photograph taken on January 29, 2017, Afghan members of a wushu martial arts group led by trainer Sima Azimi (C), 20, pose for a photograph at the Shahrak Haji Nabi hilltop overlooking Kabul. Afghanistan's first female wushu trainer, Sima Azimi, 20, is training 20 Afghan girls aged between 14 – 20 at a wushu club in Kabul, after learning the sport while living as a refugee in Iran. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP Photo)