More proof, if any were needed, that young girls can be really silly. Everyone was having a good time until Fatima's robes got caught in the treadmill....

Times of India: AHMEDABAD: A bunch of girls between 18-20 years, working out, learning karate and doing aerobics might sound like any other gym, except that the girls are pumping iron in burqas.

And they aspire a size zero Kareena’s body, even under a burqa! Taking a break from the twister, Sajeda, 19, told TOI , "If Kareena could lose so much weight then why not me. I too could be a model or pursue a course in fashion designing. All girls aspire to look pretty and slim, don't they?"

Now that's a dream being realised at this gym in Juhapura, Ahmedabad's largest Muslim neighbourhood. And if you think the burqa hinders the workout, these girls will tell you how they perfected the art of doing the treadmill in a free flowing robe. "We won't shed the burqa, it's a part of our values and upbringing. And it doesn't bother us one bit", says Heena,

At least 25 girls spend three hours every afternoon on aerobics, yoga, exercise, karate and pumping iron.

Their gym instructor, Habib Khan has been enthusiastically working on them for the past two years. "Elders merely expect girls to get married and take care of the house, but it’s essential that a girl learns to protect herself, in fact it is even more important, than eating! Why stop them now, when women are just as good as men", says Khan. Habib's daughter, Zeba, a karate champion, too is among them.

These girls come from orthodox middle class families, and going to the gym is a social revolution in their lives. And all this hoopla about weight loss and perfect figures is also motivated by a prospective marriage. "I don't wish to study" says Heena, who is happy having passed Class XII.