Season 2, Ep 10: Conquering Peaks and Stereotypes: Naila Kiani's Trailblazing Achievements in Mountaineering
“For me, the achievement is experiencing the journey,” says Naila Kiani, who in just a few short years has become the first Pakistani woman climber to summit ten peaks above 8,000 meters, and the only Pakistani person to ascend seven peaks above 8,000 meters in six months. In that brief span of time, she has experienced both the zenith and the nadir–witnessing great tragedy and being—almost literally—over the moon. Though she started her journey simply to fulfill a personal ambition and act as a role model to her daughters, showing them that they could do anything, she soon became an inspiration to many–particularly to women.
Naila, like many women of her background, grew up feeling restricted. Like many parents, once she had children, she was expected to give up adventuring in order to provide and sacrifice for her family. Yet, as notice of her climbing grew, she began to receive more and more messages from people in Pakistan and throughout the world saying that she had inspired them to follow their own passions and to break barriers. Despite receiving her fair share of criticism from people who doubted the legitimacy of her achievements, she has kept moving forward with determination. Such a sense of mental toughness, which she says is even more important to climbing than physical toughness, was forged at an early age.
On today’s episode of Women Igniting Change, Naila explains how mountaineering has fundamentally changed her approach to life.
Quotes
Links
Connect with Naila Kiani:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naila._.kiani/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nailakianik2/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nailakiani
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naila_Kiani
Connect with Robbin Jorgensen (She/Her):
Website: https://womenignitingchange.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-igniting-change/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbinjorgensen/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robbin.jorgensen/
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