WISE Founder Teaches Muslim Women Self Defense To Protect Against Hate Crimes

In the wake of increasing anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States, Muslim women are taking their safety into their own hands.

Through her organization, Women's Initiative for Self-Empowerment, karate instructor and activist Rana Abdelhamid leads self-defense workshops for Muslim women, who are overwhelmingly targeted in acts of Islamophobic violence. Albdelhamid, who started the group after a man tried to forcibly remove her hijab when she was 16 years old, is a Shotokan Karate black belt and teaches fellow Muslim women how to react if they experience a violent threat. The Egyptian-American Queens native, is pursuing a master's degree in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, but has taken her classes on the road to places like Washington, D.C., Dublin and Madrid.

Check out the video above to learn more.