While there is no membership criteria, AGS is younger, with all members still in high school. Their structure doesn’t have a hierarchy, either, but Liya Sileshi, 17, is the coordinator of the group, managing the team’s social media and liaising with Ethiopia Skate, the grassroots community that works to improve access to skateboarding among Ethiopia’s youth. The nonprofit has spearheaded the development of skating in the country, most significantly crowdfunding the establishment of Addis Skatepark in 2016, and has since built three more skateparks, two of which are outside Addis Ababa. Through Ethiopia Skate’s community outreach program, girl skaters have the opportunity to learn how to skate, access free boards, and attend educational and vocational programs.
A young man in his early 20s has been trying to build enough momentum to skate around a ledge close to us. Semhal Teklay, an AGS member, dressed in cargo pants and a crop top, her long hair in loose twists, skates nearby. After several failed attempts, the young man kicks her board in frustration as she skates past him. Teklay appears unaffected and walks over to retrieve her board as he storms off without so much as a glance or an apology. Later, she tells the group that she had to cry before her mom agreed to let her out of the house that morning.
Traditionally, girls in Ethiopia, even in the capital, experience a range of gendered expectations at home. Pressures for those from less privileged backgrounds are harsher and harder to resist. But once families have been coaxed and cajoled, she says, skating offers these girls the freedom to spend their weekends as they wish. There’s also a camaraderie between the girls that is inspiring to witness. “Skating in a team has taught me to be tolerant and to understand different personalities. I also learned people think I’m stern and easy to anger but being in a team means being willing to work together and accept each other,” says Sileshi. She sports a growing afro and wears a cropped shirt and baggy jeans. Her eyes sparkle from carefully applied makeup.
“I’m so happy I made friends here. We hang out even outside of the skatepark,” says a 16-year-old called Tsion Fitwi. She wears a loose, red jersey and grey cargo pants, and her hair is cut short with faded sides. She cradles a board she’s designed herself, covered in red and black abstract drawings and stickers, and tells me she wants to skate professionally in the future. “Because we all attend different schools and live in different neighborhoods, it’s unlikely we would’ve met if it weren’t for skating,” she adds. Despite these differences, they say, they’ve become each other’s chosen family—and the skate park, their home away from home.
