"When I come here for training, I imagine an enemy in front of me and I try to score a point against him," she said.
For Abdel Karim, who was born paralyzed in the legs and who works at an information center for the hearing- and visually-impaired, the enemy is the hardship that most Iraqis are experiencing.
Car bombs, firefights and kidnappings have become almost routine for Iraqis since US-led forces invaded their country in March last year.
"I never felt that I am handicapped, but the ordeals and suffering we are witnessing makes me want to fight," said Abdel Karim, who joined the Wissam fencing club three months ago.
"I come here to forget, to get peace of mind for a few hours before returning to the daily struggle," she added.
The Wissam club was established in 1984 during the regime of ousted president Saddam Hussein.
"It used to be for soldiers disabled during the Iran-Iraq war. Now it's for everybody," said the club's manager, Khaled Rashik, himself a victim of the eight-year conflict that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands.
Twelve disabled women are currently taking part in nine different sports at the club, and four of them have chosen fencing.
Wafa Jadwal is one of them.
"Fencing is a noble sport and the sword represents the strongest," said the veiled 26-year-old, adding, "I joined this game to fight shyness. I like to have a personality like the sword."
"It is a dream of every person to live in a peaceful country and not to be haunted by death and destruction. But sometimes we have to suffer. That's part of life," said Jadwal.
Iraq's national fencing trainer, Jamal Hassan Ibrahim, gives the signal for Abdel Karim and Jadwal to start their duel. The women use their hands to adjust their legs in preparation for the fight.
They don special helmets to protect their faces and then their upper bodies weave back and forth in a series of cuts and thrusts in their bid to score points.
While women were excluded from the club during Saddam's reign because it was reserved for soldiers, they now face another problem.
"Now we are facing the rise of Muslim fundamentalism, which makes it very difficult for women to practice any kind of sports," said Mohammed Mohamoud Fathi, a member of the club's committee.
"But with the help of many people and specially the families of the women, they have the chance to practice sport," he added.
© 2004 Agence France-Presse
To add a comment,
Please log in:
Don't have an account?
Register now to comment on stories and stay up to date on important events and issues in the Middle East with our newsletter.