Women behind the lens: ‘I may not be able to decide whose faces are painted on walls but I can make sure female boxers are part of that archive’
Photojournalist Olaoluwa Olowu is documenting the lives of women in Ghana who choose to fight I took this portrait of Elizabeth Boakye, an amateur boxer
Photojournalist Olaoluwa Olowu is documenting the lives of women in Ghana who choose to fight I took this portrait of Elizabeth Boakye, an amateur boxer, in the Abossey Okai neighbourhood of Accra, Ghana, in May 2026.
While photographing boxing, I started noticing how much of the sport exists outside the ring. On the streets, there are paintings, graffiti, posters, signs and names celebrating boxers, but almost everything I saw represented male boxers.
One day, I saw this painting of a male boxer under the bridge. I remember looking at it and thinking about how I could add or imprint a female boxer into this archive of boxing that already exists on the streets.
I returned with Elizabeth and asked her to stand beneath it. Continue reading...
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