Despite boasting more Olympic gold titles for boxing than any other country, Cuba falls behind the rest of the world in its attitude to the place of women in the ring: to this day, there exists a nationwide ban on women's competitive boxing. 

In a new short film, Namibia: Cuba’s Female Boxing Revolution, Stockholm-based director Maceo Frost captures the tireless battle of Namibia Flores Rodriguez, the only known female boxer in the Caribbean nation. Training at Havana’s Rafael Trejo arena in defiance of the ban, the athlete undertakes the same unrelenting regime as her male counterparts—running the same circuits, lifting the same truck tires—but without the hope that she might one day represent her country. 

In 2012, the Olympic games in London saw women boxers given a place for the first time, offering a glimmer of hope to those looking to step into the ring. Yet despite her unflagging efforts, Rodriguez’s likelihood of competing grows increasingly slimmer. Even in the event that the sport opens up to include female participants in her home country, the 39 year old is just a year away from the current Olympic age limit.

Seemingly unfazed, the boxing rebel continues to tread the ring in hopes of inspiring others—if not as an Olympic athlete, then as a voice of defiance.