Rukaya al-Zubaidi placed a cautious foot on a skateboard and then struggled to find her balance as others glided back and forth at Baghdad's first park dedicated to the sport.

"It's only my second time skating, but I want to keep going, especially now we have the space for it here in Baghdad," the 22-year-old said as loud music mixed with laughter from fellow boarders.

After negotiating with authorities for five years, three organisations from Italy, Iraq and Belgium have now opened Baghdad's first skatepark.

It is not the first in the country, however: that honour went to the northern city of Sulaimaniyah.

The new skatepark at the sports ministry in a Baghdad suburb provides a welcome means of escape for young people in a country that has endured decades of conflict and crisis.

It also offers a rare respite from the often scrutinising gaze of conservative Iraqi society.

Zubaidi, wearing a pink sweater, watched fellow enthusiasts, both professional and amateur, as they rolled on colourful boards in the open-air park.

"When my friends first told me about skateboarding, I was scared," she said -- not just of........

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