‘Box Girls Of Nairobi’ Is A Timely Look At Sports’ Potential To Impact Societal Issues

The discourse around sexual assault and harassment has seen a seismic shift in 2017 thanks to the many brave women that have spoken out about the prevalence of the issue. The numerous accounts of sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein sparked the #MeToo campaign, which saw women from all over tell their stories to show just how common it is for women to deal with sexual assault and harassment.

The issue spreads far beyond the United States’ borders, and a new documentary, Box Girls of Nairobi, which will air on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network, aims to shine light on the global nature of the problem and how one community has found sports, boxing in particular, as a catalyst for change.

The documentary looks at Kariobangi, a slum on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, where the owner of a boxing gym, Alfred “Priest” Analo, and Jane Knight, a young mother in the community that was among the first women to come to his gym and pickup boxing, travel around to local elementary schools to work with young girls and teach them the sport and the life lessons that come with it.

Former boxer and current We Need To Talk co-host Laila Ali narrates the documentary and was drawn to the story because it highlighted the way boxing and sports offered a vehicle for women to build confidence in themselves and try to change the perception of women in the area.

“Sports itself has become a vehicle for self-discovery and survival in Kariobangi,” Ali said. “This show really tells the story of how local boxing coach who was Priest and a young mother named Jane Knight are using boxing to change the treatment and expectations of women in their communities because a lot of the women there are just feel like second class citizens and they feel hopeless, so it just really gives them an outlet. So being that it’s a sport that I love, that empowered me in so many ways, I love seeing it happen for these girls.”

Emilie Deutsch, VP of Original Programming at CBS, oversaw the production of the project and was likewise drawn to the story for how it shows women being empowered by sport and finding a new level of confidence in themselves as individuals and collectively.

“Through sports women are empowered, and I think that’s really the basic message, and it’s not a new message,” Deutsch said. “I mean, Women’s Sports Foundation has been talking about it ever since Title IX. That message has been disseminated, but I think that is the essential message that through sport women can become empowered. They feel good about themselves. They gain confidence in themselves. They gain physical strength, mental strength, a sense of themselves, a sense of who they are and what they can accomplish.”

It’s coincidence the piece is coming out now when the discussion about sexual assault and what needs to change as a society to prevent it, as it was shot over the summer prior to the wave of stories coming out about powerful men harassing and assaulting women. However, it does make the documentary feel timely.

“It does dovetail beautifully with exactly what’s going on in society today, in American society today,” Deutsch said. “And that’s another thing I really like about it is the central message of the story is that woman have control of their own sexuality, their own bodies, and that is exactly what the story is today in America.”

Ali hopes it can bring the global perspective to the conversation and point to this being an issue that needs fixing far beyond just the United States and show the parallels between two places that are rarely presented as such.

“I think it’s definitely a good time because even though it’s been going on for many years and on way worse levels than these other countries, I think that people are going to stop and pay attention more,” Ali said. “Just things that they should have been paying attention to anyway. A lot of the time, we feel so far removed. We don’t necessary feel like we can do anything about what’s going on in Kenya or China or India or anywhere else in the world. Do you know what I mean? But to have it going on right here in our own country in this day and time, it’s kind of amazing right now to me and I like it. I like that times are changing right before our eyes. …

“So I think it’s just positive news that lets you know that we have a connection. We’re all connected. No matter where you are in the world, we’re all connected and we suffer from some of the same situations. And as far as we’re talking about what’s going on with women in the world today, what’s going on all the way in Nairobi, Kenya, and that somebody who happens to be a man is doing something about it, which is quite wonderful as well.”

The documentary can be seen in its entirety at 10 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network, following Oklahoma vs. UConn and We Need To Talk.