As a kid, Stela would tag along with her brothers to their boxing club and watch in awe as they practised. She fell in love with the sport and decided she “didn’t want to just look.” Stela wanted to be a boxer too.

When she told her parents about her dream, they said that “boxing is not for girls.” Stela disagreed and began training with her brothers’ coach.

When her parents found out, they forbid her from going back. But Stela’s coach stood by her side and asked her parents to let her keep boxing. To Stela’s surprise, her parents agreed.

(Credit: Diana Savina UN Women Moldova)

After winning several medals at regional competitions in Moldova, 16-year-old Stela now dreams of becoming a world champion boxer and joining the ranks of female Olympians.

“My goal is to be a big name in sports,” she says. “When I achieve results [as a boxer], people will never say again that girls cannot do what boys can do.”

Stela’s goals are unusual for a girl in the Romani community she belongs to. In Roma tradition, girls are expected to marry early. At Stela’s age, most Roma girls are out of school and raising children. Only 14% of secondary school-age girls of Roma origin are currently in school in Moldova. Many of Stela’s friends married by the age of 13 and now “they do not have studies, do not have jobs, they have nothing.”

Stela on the other hand, has “a dream to pursue.” She wants to stay in school, continue training and build towards a career. “Girls must have a profession, a purpose to become someone,” she says.

“When I was younger, even when the weather was bad and my mom wanted me to stay home, I told her I had to go to school to study. I was the best student.”