Hanifa Yousoufi
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Hanifa Yousoufi became the first
Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
woman to summit her country's highest peak Mount Noshaq, at a height of 24,580 ft (7,492 meters). She achieved this feat on August 10, 2018, as part of a month-long expedition organised and funded b
Ascend: Leadership Through Athletics
a
nonprofit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
that trains young women to climb mountains. Noshaq is the second highest mountain in the Hindu Kush range, which runs along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.


Personal life

Yousoufi grew up in
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
and was sent to
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
to marry an older man at the age of about 14. She described the experience as being like "a slave for cooking and cleaning". After approximately two years she divorced him and went back to her parents in Kabul. Her cousin encouraged Yousoufi to join the program in 2016, and since then she worked as a program assistant while training for climbs. After climbing Noshaq, Yousoufi chose to limit the media exposure to radio and Facebook only (no TV coverage) because of security concerns, but publicized her full name out of pride for her achievement and to inspire other Afghan women.


The expedition

It was a $30,000 expedition, which was fully funded by Ascend Athletics through private individual donors. The team had to face a number of complications, including nearby fighting between Taliban forces and the Afghan army. Yousoufi had been training with Ascend Athletics to attempt to climb Mt Noshaq since 2016. Mount Noshaq was closed to climbers for about 30 years, due to the fact of several years of unrest during the Taliban rule in the country. It was again opened up in the year 2009. The Taliban shot down two
Afghan National Army Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia * Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity **Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
helicopters in the Zebak on the day before the group was supposed to fly from
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
to the nearest airfield to hike to the base camp. So, the group was flown to a safer village to continue with the expedition. Mount Noshaq, world's one of the most challenging summits, involves hazards and challenges like dangerous
crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...
s, fractured ice faces, loose rocks, sub-zero temperature and socio-political issues involving the Taliban; the expedition to the peak involves trekking through the war-torn regions, riddled with land-mines dating back to the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
era and where outsiders face the danger of being kidnapped or assaulted. The climb started at 9a.m. and while climbing, Yousoufi faced altitude sickness in Camp Two and had to be brought down to Camp One. Next morning she went back to Camp Two after resting in Camp One. The other two girls could not continue the trek with Yousoufi, due to
altitude sickness Altitude sickness, the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is the harmful effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. People can respond to high altitude in different ways. Sympt ...
and she had to continue the climb alone. She reached the summit at 7:10 p.m.


See also

*
Bachendri Pal Bachendri Pal (born 24 May 1954) is an Indian mountaineer. She is the first Indian woman to climb the summit of world's highest mountain, Mount Everest, what she did in 1984. She was awarded the third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan by Gov ...
*
Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer, author and a teacher. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the first woman to ascend the Seven Summits, climbing the highest peak on every continent. Tabei wrote seven books, organized e ...
*
Wanda Rutkiewicz Wanda Rutkiewicz (née Błaszkiewicz) ( 4 February 1943 – 12–13 May 1992) was a Polish mountain climber and computer engineer. She was the first woman to reach the summit of K2 and the third woman (first European woman) to summit Mount Ev ...
*
Arlene Blum Arlene Blum (born March 1, 1945Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life, page 34Chapter 24 /ref>) is an American mountaineer, writer, and environmental health scientist. She is best known for leading the first successful American ascent of Annapurna (I), ...
*
List of Afghan records in athletics The following are the national records in athletics in Afghanistan maintained by the Afghanistan Athletic Federation. Outdoor Key to tables: + = en route to a longer distance h = hand timing NWI = no wind information Men Women Indo ...


References


External links

* https://www.ascendathletics.org/ * https://twitter.com/sorayanelson/status/1031469249074741249 * https://twitter.com/afghan_ascend * https://www.facebook.com/keihanfoundation/posts/1900067086729466 * https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/957b3b_9fce1f8e07a446f18fb7f40557e52fda.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Yousoufi, Hanifa Afghan female climbers Afghan female athletes Living people Year of birth missing (living people)