Kriangkrai Thitimakorn/Getty
In the spring of 2025, Freshta Ibrahimi wants to make history by becoming the first Afghan woman to climb the highest mountain in the world. But while climbing Mount Everest is a bucket list feat for any serious mountaineer, 32-year-old Ibrahimi, who has a decade of climbing experience under her belt (having recently conquered Lobuche East in Nepal), represents more than just a physical activity. challenge. She wants to fly a flag of hope for women living under an oppressive Taliban regime – and chart a path for them to one day follow suit.
Born in Iran to Afghan parents who moved to Tehran when the Taliban were still in power, Ibrahimi grew up fascinated by stories of Afghanistan’s challenging countryside. “I remember my parents telling me that they made their own shoes because it was very difficult for them to go to the city,” says Ibrahimi, describing how they made wooden blocks and rubber for extra traction in the snow. “The stories made me so interested in the mountains.”
The mountaineering seed was planted young. Then, in November 2001, political shifts brought the family back to Afghanistan, as U.S. troops and NATO allies took power. Driven by patriotism and a desire to support their country’s recovery, Ibrahimi’s parents settled the family in Kabul. Many gender-based laws had been relaxed, including the ban on education for women and girls, but enough oppressive societal beliefs still lingered for Ibrahimi to notice a major change in her daily life.
Freshta Ibrahimi during a climb
Manish Tamang
Moving from Iran to Afghanistan was a life-changing experience, she says: “I couldn’t go out as much as I wanted. I kept being told that it was not safe outside.” But despite all the setbacks, this did not stop her as a young girl from her budding love for sports and the outdoors. “I discovered kite flying in Afghanistan and I was the best,” she says, explaining how she even taught her brother. The dynamic was unusual: most young girls, Ibrahimi says, were expected to focus on domestic skills such as cooking, and few were allowed to play with boys.
As a teenager, she again broke social norms, helped by the changing opinions within her family circle. “I think I was lucky at the time,” says Ibrahimi, who began talking openly with her parents about pursuing educational ambitions. “When I reached the age my sister was when she got married, there was support for the younger generation of women.” She received a full scholarship to study at the American University of Afghanistan. Higher education became a catalyst for her life in nature and brought her into contact with the first female mountaineering group in Afghanistan. Ibrahimi assisted in recruiting teenagers from schools across the country while working as a project coordinator for Ascend, an American non-profit organization dedicated to empowering girls and women in Afghanistan through sports and peaks like Mount Noshaq, the highest mountain in Afghanistan. (Ascend facilitated the climb that led to the first Afghan woman reaching Noshaq in 2018.) Though the group is now spread across several countries, her role within that growing movement fueled her quest for outdoor adventure.
For Ibrahimi, the mountains offered solace against the threat of a Taliban resurgence. She climbed 5,000 to 6,000 meters in remote areas and even ventured higher than the peaks in her parents’ stories – now aided by mountaineering equipment thanks to her access to urban Afghanistan and formal training. But even with groups like Ascend offering access to climbing lessons and equipment, Afghanistan still has little climbing culture: harsh conditions deter those who didn’t grow up in the mountains, not to mention the risk of landmines and a history of guerrilla movements. -style violence in the countryside. Even today, Afghanistan’s mountainous terrain, which covers 75% of the country, has not yet been climbed. “Climbing in Afghanistan is pristine and raw,” says Ibrahimi. “When you go, you feel like you’re the first person.”
Her small period of freedom to climb the mountains of Afghanistan was short-lived; The resurgence of political unrest became so intense in 2019 that Ibrahimi sought refuge in Britain. The Taliban had gradually regrouped, mainly around the Pakistani border, and had grown stronger following the NATO withdrawal in 2014. When foreign US forces controversially withdrew in 2021, as part of a 2020 peace deal negotiated directly with the Taliban was negotiated, the Afghan government was left behind. to fight independently – and the subsequent takeover was swift. In less than two weeks, the Taliban regained control, forcing civilians back into an increasingly oppressive gender apartheid. Amnesty International reports that mandatory restrictions on male companions for all women have now worsened to ban all unnecessary travel outside their home. Recently, women were banned from speaking in public. Sports are a distant memory.
“I want the women of Afghanistan to believe that their place is not underground, but on top of the world”
“Suddenly there is a wall in front of them that they can no longer climb over,” says Ibrahimi. ‘If they do, they will be killed. They are forced to remain silent by the Taliban.” By climbing Mount Everest next year, she hopes to scale that metaphorical wall for them – raising awareness and providing a symbol of strength and inspiration by breaking a record and spreading her message through her growing platform. “I want the women of Afghanistan to believe that their place is not underground, but on top of the world,” she says.
Compared to the Afghan mountains, Nepal is luxurious for Ibrahimi, with established base camps and well-trodden locations for climbers. However, this level of organization is expensive: a climbing permit alone costs $11,000, along with additional costs such as a normally refundable $4,000 waste permit. She raises huge amounts of money herself through GoFundMe and social media, and the physical training is just as demanding. In preparation for the climb itself, she undergoes endurance, strength and meticulous altitude training, including climbing 7,000 meters just days before she will climb Everest: “I train every day above Camp Four (nicknamed the Death Zone). I wear an oxygen mask; I train the lungs that I cannot see, but can feel.”
However, the mission to be on top of the world is not enough for Freshta Ibrahimi. The climber is already planning her next step: the launch of The Unstoppable Project. Inspired by her own therapeutic relationship with nature, Ibrahimi will help other women who have faced barriers to accessing outdoor activities. Through a series of programs including group hikes, climbing and kayaking, she creates a community that has the power to both heal and empower, helping women unleash an unstoppable version of themselves. Ibrahimi already organizes small walking excursions to her local Peak District, a national park in Britain, for refugee women in Manchester. “Standing on the top of Mount Everest means you’re standing at the foot of another mountain,” she says.
Originally published on Condé Nast Traveler
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