The Stars Academy in Gaza offers girls living in the war-torn area a chance to learn and play basketball.

This course also provides empowered female athlete courses, mental toughness and leadership training.

Eman Abu-Shammala, a 15-year-old student, says: "I came here with a goal. I wanted to master basketball because I dream to be a professional player with clubs outside Gaza if I get the chance."

Her 16-year-old colleague, Amina Naser, said that basketball teaches her a lot. She said this type of sport helps with everyday life: "It is not only a sport or a game but also teaches me how to deal with people and arrange my life and time."

Founder of the academy, Ibrahim Skaik, said the academy aims to highlight the role of females in the society, in addition to developing the girls' basketball skills.

"We also hope to represent Palestine in the future in basketball tournaments. We want to make achievements through our students."

More than 70 girls aged between 4 and 20 are currently enrolled in the academy.

March 19 2019, Tuesday

On 8, 21 March, stand with women of Palestine. The Stars Academy For Girls was launched in Gaza Strip which considered as the first of its kind in Gaza, that specialized in teaching the girls' collective game.

The Stars Academy, cultivates elite-level student-athletes, through training specifically designed for females, including empowered female athlete courses, mental toughness and leadership training.

The academy could be a start where women's basketball can make its way into the impoverished Gaza Strip, which suffers from high rates of poverty and unemployment due to an Israeli blockade since 2007 and successive Israeli military attacks.

Full transcript:


01:00 - 01;45 Min. "I came here with a goal. I wanted to master basketball because I dream to be a professional player with clubs outside Gaza if I get the chance," said Eman Abu-Shammala, a 15-year-old student, when she practised warming-up activities.

The young girl said the academy is really distinguished and different from other places she has been trained at, expressing hope that she "can really improve her talents and become a world-class player"

02:08- 02:32 Min. Her 16-year-old colleague, Amina Naser, said that basketball teaches her a lot. She said this type of sport make me healthy and releases negative energy.

"It is not only a sport or a game but also teaches me how to deal with people and arrange my life and time," Naser said as she bounced the ball during a training session.

Amina and Eman comment about criticizes society thoughts, added their suffering "How can as girls play basketball game in Gaza".

02:40 Min. Founder of the academy, captain Ibrahim Skaik, said the academy aims to highlight the role of females in the society, in addition to developing the girls' basketball skills.

"We also hope to represent Palestine in the future in basketball tournaments. We want to make achievements through our students," he added.

03; 00 Min. Skaik said the academy also wishes to send a message that the Palestinian girl can make achievements and participate in the development of the society.
So far, more than 70 girls aged between 4 and 20 are currently enrolled in the academy.

During the training sessions, the girls exercise basketball with a passion to learn the rules with ambitions to participate in tournaments at the local and international level.

For the girls, basketball is a completely new experience that taught them how to respect rules.

In Gaza, which is ruled by Islamic Hamas movement, girls are mostly asked to focus more on their domestic skills and education, while sports such as swimming, football, volleyball and horse riding are widely practised by males.

However, this phenomenon has recently started to change with more girls practising in different kinds of sports.