We reproduce the speech given by Salima Souakri, Algerian judo champion and UNICEF ambassador, during the panel discussion ‘Beyond the Game: when sport is righteous’, held in Milan on Saturday 29 November 2025, during the GariwoNetwork 2025 event, in collaboration with UN Office on the Prevention of Genocide.
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Ladies and gentlemen, dear guests, It is a great honour for me to be here in Milan to share not only my sporting career, but also my life's struggle. I would like to express my warmest thanks to the Gariwo Foundation for its invitation and for providing this space for dialogue, where sport becomes an instrument of peace and human dignity. My name is Salima Souakri, I am Algerian. My story begins in a working-class neighbourhood of Algiers, in a modest family, where life was not always easy, especially for a girl. I discovered judo at the age of 9. From the very first moment, I knew that this sport would be more than just a discipline: it would be my life.
But even before I entered a dojo, I had to fight my first battle. I was the only girl among five brothers. When my brothers asked my father if they could do judo, it was an automatic yes. But when I timidly said, “Dad, I want to do judo too,” the answer was categorical: “No, my daughter, judo is for boys. Not for girls.”
That night, I didn't sleep. I cried all night, unable to understand why my brothers had the right to pursue their passion and I didn't. So, at the age of 9, I made a radical decision: I took a pair of scissors, cut my hair, and the next day, I looked my father in the eye and said: “From today, my name is no longer Salima but Salim, and I want to do judo.” It was bold, perhaps naive, but sincere. And it was the first battle I won: I was able to accompany my brothers to the dojo.
When I arrived, I was the only girl. I looked like a boy, and yet the young judokas said: “What's a girl doing here? She'll get beaten up and leave.” And it's true: I got beaten up every day. But I never gave up. Through perseverance, I started winning fights, even against boys. And one day, the parents who came to pick up their sons saw this girl on the tatami, determined and courageous. So they enrolled their own daughters. That was my second victory: paving the way for other young girls. I lived far away, 10 km from the dojo. I often walked that distance because I couldn't afford transport. But I never doubted myself. I had a dream, a goal: to achieve my dream and that of all the young girls who were told “no” simply because they were girls.
In 1990, my selection for the national team coincided with Algeria's darkest years: the black decade. And yet, in 1992, at only 18 years old, I was the first Algerian and Arab judoka to participate in the Olympic Games in Barcelona. I was a junior. I saw the Olympic Games as a dream... and there I was. It was bold, perhaps naive, but sincere. And that was it. I finished in fourth place, and that same year, I won Algeria's first world medal in judo in Argentina, as well as my first title at the African Championships. It was a remarkable achievement for a girl from a neighbourhood where everything was taboo.
I was absolutely happy... but a few days later, my life took a tragic turn. The fundamentalists, who hated freedom, culture and women in sport, decided to target me because I represented everything they hated. Late one evening, they came to my house to kidnap me. I wasn't there; I was at boarding school catching up on my exams. They found my brother, a 23-year-old police officer. They kidnapped him and murdered him in inhumane conditions. From that day on, my life changed. I had two choices: give up or continue the fight I had started at the age of nine. I chose to continue. Even though it was very dangerous, even though many clubs closed their women's sections out of fear or conviction. I wanted to continue for all those girls who still had dreams despite all the difficulties. For me, it was a mission: at that time, our victories, our medals and our achievements gave hope to an entire people.
In 2001, I became the first African woman to win the Paris Bercy Grand Slam. It was bold, perhaps naive, but sincere. And that was the I finished in 4th place, and in the same year, I won Algeria's first world medal in judo in Argentina. At the end of my sporting career, I wanted to continue serving. In 2008, I became the first female coach of the national judo team. Then, after my studies, I joined the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and a few years later, I was appointed by the President of the Republic as Minister Delegate in charge of elite sport, yet another battle won.
But my commitment did not stop there. I realised that I had a mission: to promote youth, women, hope and the values of sport. I travelled throughout Algeria, from the big cities to the most isolated villages. I worked as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, created my own humanitarian foundation, and worked in the audiovisual sector to convey messages of solidarity, education and peace. In 2020, I was awarded the International Olympic Committee's Women and Sport Trophy for The trophy, now renamed the Champion of Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Trophy. I am also the mother of a wonderful daughter, Maria, who is 12 years old, and to whom I try to pass on the values that judo has taught me: courage, respect, sharing and resilience.
Today, I am convinced that sport brings people together and never divides them. Even in competition, we share the same values. Sport is a universal language, a bridge between communities, a means of combating hatred, preventing violence and reaffirming our common humanity. I am here today to say that every child, every girl, every young person, wherever they are, must have the right to dream. I believed in my dream. It guided me, protected me and shaped me. And today, I continue to fight for peace, dignity, young people, women, Algeria and Africa. Sport changed my life. And I firmly believe that it can change the world. Thank you.
