3. Biodata:
Mrs. Hanifa Yousoufi was born 1994 in Afghanistan. She has become the first from the country to climb the Afghanistab’s highest peak on August 10, when she summited her country’s highest peak, the 24,580-foot (7,492 meters) Mt. Noshaq. Hanifa Yousoufi was married at 15 and later divorced her abusive husband. As a divorced woman in Afghanistan, Yousoufi felt that her prospects were over by the time she was 17. However, a few years after escaping the marriage, Yousoufi found the organization nonprofit Ascend Athletics, that trains women for 2 years in leadership and physical training. The Mt. Noshaq expedition was fully funded by the organization and totaled $30,000, which was half funded by an individual donor. At the start of each year, 20 women between the ages of 15 and 23 start the Ascend Athletics program. Aside from participating in physical training for expeditions like the one Yousoufi completed, the women also train in conflict resolution, outreach, public speaking, and leadership. Many of the women have chosen to remain anonymous and work in secret because of the negative attention that outspoken women face in Afghanistan, from the public and the Taliban. For example, in 2016 locals threw rocks at the women while they training at a location site. However, Ascend Athletics is not alone in pushing boundaries in Afghanistan and empowering women to break glass ceilings.