Asian Women MEAN Business (AWMB) a UK based education and empowerment platform for South Asian Women, has taken on one of the greatest challenges to bring into fruition a history in the making ground-breaking trip of a group of South Asian women trekking to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.
In August 2022, Rupinder Kaur, Founder of AWMB, will fly out to Tanzania with 15 other climbers from the UK. All the women are British, from a South Asian heritage. This is the first time such an endeavour has been undertaken by an exclusively South Asian female group.
Getting to the summit of Kilimanjaro, the world’s tallest freestanding mountain, is not for the faint-hearted, and has challenged and defeated even the most experienced of climbers. Its permanently snow-capped summit towers 5,895 metres above sea level - four times higher than Ben Nevis, UK’s highest mountain. To reach the summit, the all-female team will have to brave daunting conditions and harsh terrain, camping on bare rocky mountain slopes for six consecutive nights through 5 climate zones, from bushland to arctic. The approach to the summit will be especially demanding, overcoming exhaustion and altitude sickness, the team will set off at midnight in oxygen-thin air for the final 6-8 hour push to the summit, over dangerously loose boulders before the mostly vertical snowy climb, maintaining a reserve for the equally treacherous descent.
Explaining her excitement at bringing a team together for the climb, Rupinder Kaur said: “Climbing one of the seven summits is no small feat, especially when you're on track to make history. There are many reasons for assembling an exclusively South Asian female group to climb the world’s largest freestanding mountain. Our foremost motivation for organising the trip is unequivocal: We want to show the world what Asian women are capable of. The Kilimanjaro expedition provides an example of what is possible for others, that it’s okay to hit pause as Asian women on your parental, family responsibilities, and seek personal accomplishment and adventure for YOU.”
To prepare for the challenge, the currently inexperienced team will undertake serious climbing training including spending 2 days camping and trekking with Surrey Trek & Hire, an overnight Mount Snowdon summit and regular 14-mile hikes across the Chilterns.
A documentary crew will be joining the team to capture this gruelling trek and momentous occasion. Award-winning documentary maker Rehmat Ryatt, who won Best Documentary for her previous offering Toxification, has partnered with the project to bring it to the screen.
To follow their training and updates you can follow the #ClimbKiliWithAWMB.
