Shamil Tanna photographs local skaters during his recent travels to Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian Girl Skaters is an all-female skateboarding collective that is transforming perceptions and redefining stereotypes about the activities Ethiopian girls can engage in.

Sosina Challa helped start Ethiopian Girl Skaters in 2020. The group supports girls’ physical and mental well-being. At the time, skateboarding was still pretty new in Ethiopia. The sport was male-dominated, just as it is today. But Challa was hooked. She wanted girls to experience skateboarding. So in 2020, she teamed up with her friend Micky Asfaw to start Ethiopian Girl Skaters. The club provides free skateboarding lessons to girls and young women. “It’s not just about skateboarding,” she says. “We try to build a community.”

Shamil joined them for a day on the way back from shooting in Kenya.

As one of the first trailblazing all-female skateboarding crews in the country, they are inspiring girls across Africa to aspire to greatness and break through barriers through the power of skateboarding.