Video: Iran’s all-female Kunoichi programme trains women in ninjutsu techniques
Abdullateef Fowewe
Footage of Iranian women performing ninjutsu techniques has emerged.
Video: Iran’s all-female Kunoichi programme trains women in ninjutsu techniques
This highlights a long-running all-female martial arts programme known as the Kunoichi school.
The video shows women in black training uniforms and headscarves executing staff work, flips, throws, and coordinated drills in a public outdoor space in Iran, with spectators watching.
Claims accompanying the footage state that around 30,000 “kunoichi” (the Japanese term for female ninja) have been trained since 1989.
The programme traces its origins to 1989, when Iranian martial arts instructor Akbar Faraji introduced ninjutsu after training in Japan.
What began as a small group has grown into a structured activity operating under Iran’s Martial Arts Federation and the Ministry of Sports.
Training takes place largely in public sports centres and emphasises physical fitness, discipline, self-defence, balance, and traditional Japanese-influenced techniques such as staff fighting and stealth movement, while adhering to local dress norms.
Reports put the cumulative number of women who have completed the training at around 25,000, with active participants estimated at 3,500–4,000.
Participants and organisers have described the activity as a means of building confidence, self-defence skills, and personal development rather than a formal military unit, though the dramatic “ninja” branding and timing of the clips have linked it to broader discussions of national readiness amid regional tensions.
The latest images have drawn mixed reactions online, with some viewers praising the athleticism and others debating its significance in the context of Iran’s social and security landscape.
