On Halloween night, coaches and members from Toronto Newsgirls Boxing Club came together, dressed as clowns, at the Church and Wellesley annual parade with a mission.
“Just because a couple of dough-heads dressed as clowns, it doesn’t mean the clown is bad,” said owner and coach Savoy Howe. “So we thought, we got to let people know that it’s not the clown that’s bad.”
Howe is talking about the recent “creepy” clown sightings across the country.
“Its not the clown, it’s the person that are dressing as a clown,” Howe said. “We are good clowns, we are here to teach woman how to throw some combinations, to show them how strong they are.”
Tania Jiviraj, who works as a social worker at the club , dressed as a clown and taught people at the parade on how to stay safe.
“I’d like to say all women are affected by violence and a culture that dismisses women — and boxing gives us strength,” Jiviraj said. “It gives me strength.”
Howe said boys grow up knowing how to punch, because they are allowed too, while girls are told they aren’t allowed to punch.
“So we thought we’d come out here and teach some woman how to throw some punches,” Howe said.