The Journal reports that, although new opportunities are opening up every day for young Indian boys, many young women still have a difficult time rising above difficult economic circumstances. There are a few jobs available to them, including working at nonprofits and teaching, but sports has become the preferred avenue out for some. "In sports, boys and girls are equal. Everybody is the same," said 16-year-old Sughra Fatma.

Fatma studies boxing at the Khidderpore School of Physical Culture in southeast Kolkata. She is one out of 47 students fighting under instructor Sheikh Nasimuddin Ahmed, who treats his female boxers just as he does the boys. In a country where gender roles remain strictly defined, the boxing club offers a rare refuge where gender does not matter. Women who are typically told to cover up are asked to wear shorts, not to titillate the men, but to grant them greater range of motion for fighting.

The young women see boxing as a possible way to support themselves. Those who do consistently well in competition might be able to land a scholarship for college, or even a spot on a sports team with the Indian railway or police force, coveted positions that come with a job, a pension, and subsidized boxing trainers and facilities.

Unsurprisingly, not everyone supports such ambitions: Professional boxer Razia Shabnam says when she first started training, people would approach her on the street and try to get her to stop. Some parents discourage their girls from boxing because of its effect on future marriage. "The problem is people think that it's an injurious game, especially for girls," said Shabam. Who cares if a man breaks his nose? But if that happens to a woman, she "can't get married."

Of course, the reality is that most of the athletes are unable to make money from fighting. The competition is fierce, and so far, no one from Ahmed's club has made it to national level. Fighters like Mary Kom (shown at left), a title-holding boxer from Manipur, India, are few and far between. But Simmi Parveen, a 12-year-old member of the boxing club, still dreams of being the next Mary Kom. "This is an addiction for me. I will achieve something," she said. "When I'm somebody I wouldn't have to go and look for a partner. Suitors will come themselves to talk to my brother and father for my hand. That's why I want to stand on my own feet and do something."

A Fighting Chance [Wall Street Journal]

A combination of wrestling/grappling; boxing; kickboxing/Muay Thai; and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Some may call it "cagefighting"; some may call it brutal, but MMA is a sport, with training, rules and referees. And for women, traditionally the "delicate" and "weaker" sex, to not only be represented — but headline — is a big deal.

Saturday's Washington Post had a story about more women and girls entering into amateur boxing; earlier this month, the Times covered an all-female wrestling team, the first ever in Iraq. If you thought of these sports as being fueled by testosterone, it may be time to rethink.

The MMA matchup Saturday night was between Gina Carano, an American, and the intimidating Cris "Cyborg" Santos of Brazil. In a lengthy New York Times profile a couple of weeks ago, Carano was described as being "a defining figure at a defining moment for her sport — cast as part suffragette, part test case, part marketing ploy and part crossover star." She's strong, she's gorgeous, and she could make MMA — which is already a huge business — even more mainstream.

Unfortunately, Carano lost the fight, and didn't even make it past the first round. But in a pre-taped interview, when asked why she wanted to take on Cyborg, Carano said, "Because she's the best."

Christy Halbert, a coach of the national women's boxing team, who campaigned to have her boxers accepted alongside men in the 2012 Olympic Games (which is happening!), told the Times: "Any exposure of women combatants is probably good exposure in general." And Ken Hershman, the general manager for sports programming at Showtime (which aired the bout) said that Carano would face "a lot of pressure, but that's the way it should be, right, if you're going to headline?"

These women are passionate. Cris Cyborg once famously choked out an interviewer just to prove she could; and when Gina Carano spoke to the Times, her motivation and dedication were evident:

"I want it to be easier for other females to be able to walk into a gym and train, because it changed my life," she said. "I live in Las Vegas, where it's difficult to meet a gentleman who doesn't think of you as a stripper or a piece of meat. I like the training and the lifestyle. I get to wake up and focus on myself and being better. It eliminates all the drama when you have to think about somebody punching you and taking your head off."

It's clear that it's not about winning or losing, but about reveling in her strength and doing her best.

First Women's Main Event [NY Times]
From ‘Gladiator' To Headliner, Carano Has Chokehold On Fame [NY Times]
A Ring of One's Own [WaPo]
Female Iraqis Take On Tradition In Wrestling Ring [NY Times]
Women's Boxing Included On 2012 Olympics List [CNN]

[Image via Showtime]

It's believed that Suman suffers from a hormonal imbalance, but her family has been unable to afford to travel to Calcutta for expert medical treatment. WWKAD? What Would Katy Abram Do? • Margaret Bush Wilson, a civil-rights activist and head of the Missouri NAACP, has died in St. Louis at the age of 90. • Jose Garcia-Perlera, who tied up and gagged widows living alone in a series of attacks in 2007 and 2008 in Maryland, was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole. • The mom in North Dakota who was busted (heh) for breastfeeding while intoxicated can't stay out of trouble: She's been arrested twice since her sentencing. • Poor Tyler Barrick and Spencer Jones. They paid a Utah newspaper to run their wedding announcement, only to have it rejected. The same-sex couple were legally married in California in June and wanted the announcement to run in Jones' hometown before a family get-together next week. "After all, our marriage is just as real and legal and entitled to celebration as any of the others that are announced each week in the pages of The Spectrum," Jones wrote to publisher Donnie Welch. Welch replied: "This simply is not true. While that may be the case in some states it is not the case in the state of Utah. As our policy is to run marriage announcements recognized by Utah law, I have made the decision not to run the announcement." • Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota has asked a judge to prevent the state from suspending its license to perform abortions in Sioux Falls. • A 35-year-old woman known only as Carole — a convert to Islam — was banned from her local pool in Paris for trying to go swimming in a "burquini." She bought the garment because: "it would allow me the pleasure of bathing without showing too much of myself, as Islam recommends." But officials claim the "burquini" is a possible public health risk. Daniel Guillaume, a regional official in charge of swimming pools, says: "These clothes are used in public, so they can contain molecules, viruses, et cetera, which will go in the water and could be transmitted to other bathers." • "Everybody used to say how radical I was. I just thought I was pragmatic." — Billie Jean King, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Wednesday, the "the highest honor a civilian can receive in the U.S." • Scary, but not surprising: Pregnant women who underwent female genital cutting as girls are at increased risk of needing an emergency Cesarean section or suffering serious tears during childbirth. • Filament, a UK magazine for women featuring semi-naked men, is have problems pleasing its audience, which wants pictures of erect penises; its printers, which refuse and object to working with such content; and distributors which won't handle a women's magazine with a man on the cover. Writes Kristina Lloyd, "When set against the plethora of men's lifestyle and top-shelf magazines featuring scantily clad and open-legged women, the struggles faced by Filament highlight a deeply entrenched sexism: Men can look at women but women cannot look at men… The sexism is in the inequality. • Wow: Women's boxing will be added to the 2012 Olympic Games. Boxing was the last all-male Olympic sport.

[London, August 13. Image via Getty]

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 13: Naringa Jasiskiene boxes in Miguel's Gym in Brixton on August 13, 2009 in London, England. The International Olympic Committee's executive board has today ruled that women's boxing is to be included in the London 2012 Olympic games. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

As a fan of boxing, I have to agree. I used to think boxing was just a brutal, savage spectacle of two people beating the crap out of each other. And it is! But I've learned that it's more than that.

It's a sport of endurance, skill, strategy and footwork. It's not brainless swinging — that's a bar brawl. Boxers train and think and outwit and scheme. And yes, brutally pummel each other. But when it comes to not letting women punch women, something stinks. Is this about females being delicate flowers? Is this about women not messing up their beautiful faces? I can't understand why women would be allowed to do Taekwondo in the Olympics, but not box. If you've ever seen Michelle Rodriguez in Girlfight or Laila Ali throw a jab, you know that an incredibly strong woman brings new meaning to the word "knockout".

Should Women Box In The London Olympics? [Reuters]