Bahraini women conquer Mount Kilimanjaro

Dodoma (Tanzania) : For 11 young Bahraini women, the new year had to start with taking themselves beyond normal boundaries and achieving an outstanding act of valour.

So when Fajr Talal Mufeez and Fatima Ali Al Mahmood, two Bahrainis with an exceptional vision and admirable courage, talked about a trip to Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and the world’s tallest free-standing mountain, there was a positive response from Bahraini and other young Gulf women. The adventurers, overcoming social stereotyping, were elated and seized the opportunity of the trip of a lifetime.

Fajer Talal Mufeez, Fatima Ali Al Mahmood, Noor Talal Mufeez, Nada Hameed, Faten Ibrahim Matar, Nawara Bahzad, Rasha Yusuf, Alia Al Qahtani, Noor Al Saad, Mona Zainal and Nadya Eqab from Bahrain were joined by two from Kuwait, and one from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq to form the largest Gulf women expedition.

 They were all genuinely determined to overcome the challenge of climbing 5,895 metres above sea level for a highly special New Year feat.

The trip to Tanzania was fun and filled with events, including a highly memorable safari. However, the real excitement started when the preparations for the historic climb were finalised.

“Mount Kili, here we come,” said Rasha Yusuf, an adventurer at heart and a travel and documentary photographer by passion who has been to 62 countries across the globe. For seven days, the expedition confronted various forms of challenges, both within themselves and from natural elements. They took the Lemosho Route, considered a very wild side, but also the most scenic trail on Kilimanjaro. Each day was more challenging than the previous ones and altitude sickness compounded with cold overnight temperatures to harshly and mercilessly put to test the courage of the climbers. However, the young women had enough willpower and strength to keep on moving upwards, regardless of the mentally tough and physically demanding efforts that required walking at odd times and through sub-freezing temperatures to reach Uhuru Peak, the summit of the mountain. “I remember the clouds and the dead silence, you cannot help but listen to your deep thoughts and reflect,” Nada Hameed said at 4,000 metres. There were new challenges, laced with great anticipations to accomplish the feat and fears of non-responsive reflexes due to incredible conditions.