Ciudad Juárez is one of the world’s most dangerous places. Clashes amongst drug cartels have turned this US-Mexico border town into almost a warzone, with a record number of sexually motivated murders.

In private, the heroines – professional wrestlers – deal with personal issues: work, relationships, emigrating or contact with one’s own children taken across the border by a violent ex-partner. Flashy costumes and traditional masks give them increased self-confidence and a sense of strength, helping them to win in the ring and tackle their own lives, as well as to join forces and fight for a safer future for all women. In a town marked by shocking numbers of murders and missing women, links between the criminal underground and the police, and a reluctance to resolve women’s rights violations, these female fighters help to build solidarity and bring the topic of gender-based violence into public space.