DUBAI 30 March 2019: A group of 14 hijab-wearing women – calling themselves ‘Surviving Hijab’ – have successfully reached the base camp of the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest.
They kicked off the climb on 17 March 2019 and made it to their goal on 25 March 2019. For most of the women, it was their first mountain climb – a challenging journey where they were pushed to their limits and each one of them powered through to fulfill one common aim: to fight against stereotypes about hijab and show the true meaning of unity, tolerance, equality and inclusiveness for all women.
The group of women’s climb to 5,357 metres under the leadership of Manal A Rostom, was supported and documented by Namshi in partnership with Facebook and Rahhalah.
Members of Surviving Hijab come from across 11 nationalities. The all-women team including participants from Palestine, Syria, Canada, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, UK, UAE, Lebanon, Egypt and Australia.
The Surviving Hijab Facebook group was created by personal trainer, Nike Run Club Coach and winner of the Facebook Leadership Award, Manal Rustom, as a safe haven for the hijabi community to come together; the hugely popular community grew rapidly from just 80 members to over 623,000 women in less than 5 years.
Having encountered the daily challenges and stereotyping that followed after she chose to embrace the hijab at the age of 21, Manal wanted to launch a platform for women in the Middle East to share their stories, fears, doubts, or just have an open conversation about wearing the hijab and wanting to learn more about the culture.
