The Fearless Sisters of the Dragon Order is a long-term documentary project that follows the extraordinary lives of the Kung Fu Nuns, a group of Buddhist nuns from the Drukpa lineage, who are breaking centuries-old gender norms through martial arts, spiritual leadership, and grassroots activism.
The Drukpa lineage, rooted in the Himalayas and over 800 years old, is the only Buddhist order where nuns have the same rights as monks. But these women are not only spiritual practitioners — they are climate activists, gender equality advocates, and self-defense trainers. In regions where women are expected to be silent and submissive, the Kung Fu Nuns have become a living solution to generational oppression — a dynamic force of change from within.
Clad in robes and performing cartweels, the nuns defy expectations. They train in Kung Fu daily, teach self-defense to girls, and lead Cycle Yatras — cycling pilgrimages of thousands of kilometers across the Himalayas to raise awareness about environmental protection and women’s rights. In recent years, their message has gone global: the Drukpa Order has opened branches in Europe and they’ve begun Cycle Yatras across Europe to spread their mission internationally.
This project began in 2019, with the support of the VG Bild-Kunst Grant, as I documented the nuns in Nepal and Northern India. In 2023, it was commissioned and published by GEO magazine (Germany). I returned to Nepal in December 2024 / January 2025 to deepen the visual narrative, having earned rare and sustained access to the community.
As a freelance photographer and 2nd Dan Taekwondo martial artist, my approach is immersive and empathetic. I have practiced martial arts for over 20 years and teach self-defense to women — a shared physical language that allows me to connect deeply with my subjects. It is through this lens that I explore the body not only as a site of struggle but as a solution to fear, silence, and inequality.
This project is personal, political, and spiritual. It offers a rare inside look at women who are challenging the limits of tradition and reshaping the future of faith-based feminism. In places like India — ranked by the Thomson Reuters Foundation as the most dangerous country for women (2018) — the nuns’ work is more than symbolic; it is a practical solution for survival and dignity.
Their voices speak volumes. “We learn Kung Fu to bring the girls up,” says Jigme Migyur Palmo, a 28-year-old nun and self-defense trainer. “Our motivation is to lift up women.” Her student, Tsering Youdon, 14, said: “The boys in my class used to beat girls. I was scared. But now I will fight back. The nuns are my idols.”
Through The Fearless Sisters of the Dragon Order, I aim to tell a story of female-led solutions — deeply rooted in tradition, yet radically transformative. These women are offering new models of leadership, blending nonviolent resistance, physical empowerment, and spiritual commitment to address global issues such as gender-based violence and climate change.
As a freelance photographer dedicated to long-form, underreported stories, I believe the Kung Fu Nuns represent not only a compelling narrative — but a living solution to some of our most urgent global challenges.
Nuns of the Buddhist Dragon Order wait for the arrival of honoured guests in the morning of the first day of the annual Drukpa Council at the Druk Amitabha mountain nunnery in Kathmandu NEPAL December 28 2024
Nuns of the Buddhist Dragon Order hold an early morning Puja prayer chanting with devotees from all over the Himalayas as well as international guests during the annual Drukpa Council inside the main temple of the Druk Amitabha mountain nunnery in Kathmandu NEPAL December 28 2024
Young Drukpa nuns prepare for a Kung Fu performance during the annual Drukpa Council at the Druk Amitabha mountain nunnery in Kathmandu NEPAL December 31 2024 The Kung Fu Nuns are part of an 800-year-old Buddhist sect named Drukpa the Tibetan word for dragon The Drukpa lineage is the only Buddhist order in which nuns have the same rights as monks The name Jigmet that all sisters carry as a part of their name means fearless
Jigmet Maha Dakini 21 shops for personal items and gifts for friends and family at the market around Buddha statue in Kathmandu NEPAL January 03 2025 Once per month the nuns are allowed to leave the nunnery and purchase personal items Jigmet Maha Dakini became a nun in 2019 after participating in a self-defence workshop of the Kung Fu Nuns in Ladakh India the same year
Jigmet Konchok Lhamo 31 and other Kung Fu Nuns take a selfie on their way to Copenhagen during their first Cycle Yatra in Europe traveling from Germany to Denmark by bicycle to promote environmental awareness Copenhagen DENMARK June 6 2024
Dr Jigmet Dorje Chosdon examines a patient inside the Druk Perma Karpo Herbal Medicine clinic at the Druk Amitabha mountain nunnery in Kathmandu NEPAL January 01 2025 Dr Chosdon studied both traditional and western medicine and serves as the main doctor of the clinic at the nunnery The clinic produces its own herbal medicine
The Kung Fu Nuns and their spiritual leader His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa listen to Ida Auken 46 Danish politician and member of the Danish parliament inside a room of the parliament in Copenhagen DENMARK June 6 2024 During their first European Cycle Yatra the nuns travel from Germany to Denmark meeting with political key figures to discuss gender equality and promote climate awareness
Jigmet M nlam 69 distributes incense during a ceremony displaying Buddha s Relics at the Buddhist Drukpa Centre in Plouray FRANCE August 10 2025 One of few Western nuns she used to work as a a psychotherapist for adolescents until she became a nun in 2017 and has since been living in the Drukpa Centre in Brittany the main Buddhist centre of the Drukpa Lineage in Europe
The Kung Fu Nuns practice the Dragon Dance before getting on stage to perform in the evening during the annual Drukpa Council at the Druk Amitabha Mountain Nunnery in Kathmandu NEPAL December 29 2024
Jigmet Rupa Lhamo 32 reacts backstage before a Kung Fu performance during the annual Drukpa Council in the Druk Amitabha mountain nunnery in Kathmandu NEPAL December 30 2024 Kung Fu makes me confident I m not afraid to go out by myself anymore Girls are not allowed to go out by themselves but they want to do many things They get inspired by us
A Kung Fu Nun rides a children s tractor on the Tangloppen camping ground during the nuns first Cycle Yatra in Europe traveling from Germany to Denmark to promote environmental awareness Tangloppen DENMARK June 6 2024
Nuns of the Buddhist Dragon Order wait for the arrival of honoured guests in the morning of the first day of the annual Drukpa Council at the Druk Amitabha mountain nunnery in Kathmandu NEPAL December 28 2024 The nuns have an animal shelter at the nunnery where they take in hurt or sick animals to take care of them