How Young Afghan Women Are Scaling New Heights
The bright stars in the forever war
In April of this year, US President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan by September 2021.
This bit of news would have hardly struck a chord with Filipinos like me, whose country is far removed from that long-standing conflict. But because I support a global non-profit that empowers undervalued Afghan women, I found the news a bit troublesome.
My initial reaction was: how will the departure of American troops affect the tremendous gains already achieved by Ascend Athletics?
What is Ascend Athletics?
Ascend Athletics is a global non-profit that develops young Afghan women into leaders through community service and mountain climbing.
Every year since 2015, Ascend recruits a new team of Afghan girls aged 15–24 to embark on a challenging two-year mountaineering and high-impact leadership training program.
The first-year team trains six days a week in Kabul. The goal is to strengthen the minds and bodies of the young recruits through physical fitness, community volunteering, rock climbing, and team-building activities.
The second-year team mentors the first-year team and the alumnae stay connected with the…
