‘I WANT TO MOVE EVERYONE WHO CROSSES MY PATH’
At the age of fourteen, she became Dutch youth kickboxing champion. Houda Loukili uses her qualities as a role model for girls and as a mother of three children to get different target groups moving.
“ ‘I knew right away: I want to do what my coach did for me.’ ”
When Houda signed up for the Dutch youth kickboxing championship at the age of fourteen, she stepped into the boxing ring wearing a headscarf. She had only started wearing it a year earlier. ‘I began to explore my faith and started to feel it was more important not to show off my feminine curves.’
So began the search: how to combine the headscarf with what she loved doing most? 'I had to be creative, figure it all out for myself. There were no sports headscarves at all at that time. I used double-sided wig tape to secure my headscarf, and then put white tape over it to keep it in place.'
Role model
To her surprise, Houda won the Dutch youth championship in her weight class. ‘It was a kind of milestone. My coach was proud, my parents, uncles, the whole family.’ Later in the conversation, she talks about that time: ‘Boxing wasn't common in my environment, I had to prove myself. But I made it easier for the girls after me. Now there are many more girls who do kickboxing, which I think is great.’
When asked who her role model is, Houda answers immediately: “My mother, she is my everything. She didn't have many opportunities in Morocco. I do, so I'm going to grab them.”
Later, as a scholarship holder at the Krajicek Foundation, Houda is praised for her ability to attract girls from diverse neighbourhoods to the playing fields. 'Look, you're more likely to get girls in the gym than on the playground outside. Inside, they feel safe and can wear whatever they want. But when I was standing outside with the other sports coaches, they still showed up. They could identify with me.'
‘You give one a fist bump, the other a hug
She believes it is important that, as a sports coach, she sees the strengths of her students. ‘I always emphasise that everyone is good at something – everyone has their own strengths. I give lots of compliments and confidence and look at the needs of the individual. You give one a fist bump, the other a hug.’
Houda beams when she talks about the change that many girls go through in sports classes. 'You really see them grow and flourish. They become more confident and dare to ask more questions. A number of issues, such as how they are doing at school, become easier for them to discuss. We are all women, we have to support each other.'
The changing body
For Houda, now mother of twins (6) and a son (3), the periods after giving birth were difficult. 'After my pregnancies, I couldn't train anymore. I had terrible pain in my pelvis and back and had to undergo rehabilitation. After both pregnancies, I really had to get back on my feet.'
She makes no secret of her personal ups and downs, even in her classes. 'What I radiate makes such a difference. I always put myself out there, and I think that works well – I notice that I inspire others at every stage of my life. I used to see girls thinking, ‘Oh, a headscarf, so that's another option.’ In recent years, I've noticed that women see me and think, 'Ah, a mother, that's another way to do it.'
