see more

TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Frankie Taggart - Buddhist nuns practise Kung-fu at the Amitabha Drukpa Nunnery on the outskirts of Kathmandu on April 26, 2012. The sisters of the Amitabha Drukpa Nunnery -- aged from nine to 52 -- come from across Nepal, India, Tibet and Bhutan to learn the ancient Chinese discipline of kung fu, which they believe will help them be better Buddhists. Buddhist nuns in the Himalayas have traditionally been seen as inferior to monks, with the women kept away from physically demanding exercise and relegated to menial tasks like cooking and cleaning. But the 800-year-old Drukpa -- or dragon -- sect is changing all that by mixing meditation with martial arts as a means of empowering its women. AFP PHOTO / PRAKASH MATHEMA (Photo credit should read PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/GettyImages)

TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Frankie Taggart - Buddhist nuns practise Kung-fu at the Amitabha Drukpa Nunnery on the outskirts of Kathmandu on April 26, 2012. The sisters of the Amitabha Drukpa Nunnery -- aged from nine to 52 -- come from across Nepal, India, Tibet and Bhutan to learn the ancient Chinese discipline of kung fu, which they believe will help them be better Buddhists. Buddhist nuns in the Himalayas have traditionally been seen as inferior to monks, with the women kept away from physically demanding exercise and relegated to menial tasks like cooking and cleaning. But the 800-year-old Drukpa -- or dragon -- sect is changing all that by mixing meditation with martial arts as a means of empowering its women. AFP PHOTO / PRAKASH MATHEMA (Photo credit should read PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP/GettyImages)
Getty Images

AFP AFP/Getty Images