The project was presented in Cairo by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Koyamada International Foundation (KIF) and the World Karate Federation (WKF), with assistance from the Japanese Embassy in Egypt and the Egyptian Karate Federation.

Designed to empower girls and young women to defend themselves through karate training and to combat gender-based violence, the project debuted in Los Angeles in the United States in October 2022.

The Ambassador of Japan to Egypt Oka Hiroshi said: "Karate is such a wonderful and popular sport.

"In every corner of the world, young and old are happy to practice it.

"Today of course we celebrate the successful launching of the Guardian Girls Global Karate Project.

"This morning I attended the activity and witnessed how eagerly the young Egyptian girls were trying to learn karate.

"I am very much looking forward to seeing how far this project will go."

The first event of the Guardian Girls Global Karate Project featured a self-defence karate seminar for local women, while a demonstration to showcase karate’s social contribution to eradicating gender-based violence took place at the Cairo International Stadium during the Premier League events.

WKF President Antonio Espinós added: "For the WKF today is a day to remember, a historic day in the 50 years of history of our organisation.

"Our secretary general Toshihisa Nagura met (KIF co-founder and actor) Shin Koyamada in Los Angeles, and this is how the Guardian Girls Global Karate project started.

"Then we came to Los Angeles in October to sign the agreement with KIF and UNFPA, and the project was born.

"The activity we did today, with great success, has been the first milestone of many more milestones to come.

"It represents a further step in the integration of karate into society, thus showing the real value of karate."