Shafaq News/ In some religions and cultures, young women playing football is practically unthinkable. The Scoring Girls project shows how the sport is helping young women in Germany and Iraq to over anxieties.

Hanover-born Tuğba Tekkal, daughter of Kurdish-Yazidi immigrants, defied all the odds to become a professional footballer in the Bundesliga. Now a coach, she founded the Scoring Girls project to offer girls and young women the opportunity to boost their self-esteem. The sport and its team-oriented nature can have therapeutic benefits for the budding sportswomen - many of whom have experienced racism in their everyday lives or faced the trauma of being a refugee.

Maisa and Maisun had to flee Iraq with their parents to escape the horrors of Islamic State rule. In Germany, the Scoring Girls project gave the two sisters a long-forgotten feeling of freedom.

Fears of discrimination and losing their culture prompt some parents to ban football for their daughters - but a growing number of youngsters have an active interest in playing the game.

Tuğba Tekkal also wants her Scoring Girls concept to help girls in Iraq, and has set up a number of local projects in the autonomous Kurdistan region. From refugee camps to big-city surroundings, she's determined to ensure that more young women get the chance to finally play football.

(DW)