Iraqi Women's Basketball Team - #RISEABOVE

Traveling the world, finding the best global sports stories about amateur athletes. That's what the new Rise Above documentary series by Jordan Brand does.

In the first installment, the filmmakers travel to Iraq to meet 20-year-old Leylan, who stars on an all-female basketball team at the American University of Iraq Sulaimani. The significance? Because of the long history of gender inequality in Leylan's home country. Men interviewed on camera say the believe a woman's role is in the home, yet in spite of the cultural divide, Leylan and her teammates are pursuing a passion, learning empowerment and camaraderie as they go.

They show that, in the end, they are trying to Rise Above.

• Category

  Sports

[nander016]

1:42 traveling

[SB Nation]

Not always though in the NBA

[Joe Grossberg]

These brave, determined young women are overcoming serious adversity and breaking cultural barriers ... and four of the first five comments here discuss how attractive they are? SMH.

[TheAnswerIverson3]

the guy at 1:07 is Arab... 

[makenzie parr]

They kind of suck

[racecourse1]

Nt religious. Shame on dose girl's who is wearing jeans outside

[racecourse1]

Dress code, shame

[Deedz de]

FYI mister mohammed, we used to have female teams in every sports :) . and kurdistan is only different in having a safe environment than the rest of the country. Plus Al-risala highschool for girls and Baghdad Highschool for girls do actually have basketball team and volly ball team :) i know because i was in alrisala and i joined the team

[xSOSxProphecy]

LMAO is this legit or a parody xD

[iraqzonedotcom]

Get connected at: w-w-w.iraqzone.com

[mohammed al temimi]

and the people who say the iraqi woman should not wear hijab and there hot whel in youre dreams try to meet a iraqi girl and see what her brothers wil do to you cut youre white head off

[mohammed al temimi]

this is in the kurdish part of iraq we the arabs woude never let that happen in the rest of iraq