She Fought Epilepsy And Poverty To Become A Karate Champ, And Now The World Is Paying Attention

The story of a braveheart from a Kolkata slum who fought poverty and epilepsy to fulfil her dream of becoming a karate champion is now going global.

Sickly teenager to a gender rights crusader

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Ayesha Noor's inspiring transformation from an uncertain, sickly teenager to a crusader of gender rights is being made into a documentary by The Independent Television Service (ITVS) in USA. It will be part of the Women and Girls Lead Global, an initiative that uses the theme of the triumph of the underdog to promote positive change on gender issues. Ayesha is the only Indian featured in the documentary. "The documentaries by ITVS will tell personal stories of five young women in five countries. The common factor is that all these women are example to their peers. Each one of them does something special to help other girls," said Koen Suidgeest from Netherlands, who will shoot the films.

"She packs quite a punch"

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The crew is landing in Kolkata in the first week of November and will document Ayesha's life over the next 10 days. The news has fired up the 19-year-old who put in an extra hour of practice on Tuesday afternoon. Dressed in her gi (karate attire) the diminutive but dynamic Ayesha jumped, swivelled and landed a kick with a stretched leg on the right hand of MA Ali, her coach. "Do not go by her appearance. She packs quite a punch," said Ali, massaging his right hand.

She lives in one room house so small she can't even stretch properly

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Black belt Ayesha lives with her family in a one-room house in a Mofidul Islam Lane in central Kolkata's Beniapukur. The modest dwelling - sandwiched between two biryani shops - hardly has space for the karate champ to even stretch properly. But she doesn't let it get in the way. Her never-say-die attitude has helped her win national and international tournaments over the past three years.

The only girl on India's Youth Karate team

In 2012, Ayesha won three gold medals in state and national karate championships, after which she headed to Thailand where she struck gold in the Thai Pitchai International Youth Karate Championship. She was the only girl in the 12-member Indian team. She trains every day at the Ramleela ground in Entally and coaches girls in self-defence on Sunday evenings at a park opposite Rajabazar Science College. "Karate has given me the confidence to stand up to every challenge," she says, while correcting a student's punch.

Ayesha's bare-knuckle fightback gave her the edge over several other contenders

"This is a phenomenal story of a young woman who despite all odds is single-mindedly pursuing her aim of becoming a karate champion. She is also using her talent and skills to train other girls in self -defence," said Suidgeest. ITVS is a non-profit organisation that promotes and funds international documentary film projects. It was created after the US Congress mandate in 1988.

Ayesha started learning karate barely eight years ago after seeing her elder brother Farooque training under Ali, a world karate champion in 1988. Her father Noor Mohammad, a taxi driver, who died four years ago, was also a bodybuilder . "Karate demands strict discipline and training to maintain consistency," says Ayesha, crediting mother Shakeela's encouragement for her incredible transformation. Her elder brother Tanveer, a temporary shoe salesman, is the family's breadwinner. Ayesha idolises Olympian boxing medallist Mary Kom of Manipur.

"Whenever I am in the ring, I visualise her," she smiles.