Shariqua Ahmed/BBCA former Afghan refugee who works as an NHS nurse desires to encourage extra girls, particularly from the Muslim neighborhood into sports activities after she accomplished a 26-hour ultramarathon.
Fatima Painda, who lives in Peterborough, grew up within the metropolis of Ghazni, in a mountainous area of Afghanistan, however fled to the UK when she was 14 to flee the Taliban.
Ms Painda, a deputy sister at Peterborough Metropolis Hospital, launched into a worldwide operating problem this summer season, and he or she might be operating trails and marathons throughout 26 cities.
She goals to be a “voice for change” and lift consciousness and funds for Afghan girls dealing with injustice.
In August, she grew to become one of many few Afghan girls, “and even the primary Afghan lady”, to finish the annual 100km ultra-endurance CCC race in France – a part of the UTMB World Sequence.
Ms Painda and her six siblings grew up engaged on their father’s farm after faculty, climbing hills with pals and residing a “lovely” life, she stated.
Her faculty was an hour-long stroll from residence, and infrequently she and her pals would run after lorries and leap on to keep away from strolling. That was her first expertise of operating.
However she and her household fled a number of years after the Taliban took over the nation in 1996.
Throughout their journey, her household was shot at by the Taliban. They have been additionally robbed of their belongings on the Pakistan border.
Fatima Painda‘I did not really feel the necessity to slot in’
Fatima PaindaIn Peterborough, she attended Nene Park Academy and, in 2019, she graduated from the College of East Anglia.
She has been coaching along with her coach Paul Larkins at Peterborough Athletics Observe for about 15 years.
Mr Larkins described her as “inspirational” and stated he had massive aspirations for her.
“I felt misplaced once we first moved right here. I missed the mountains,” Ms Painda stated.
“My coach has been with me by means of my lows and excessive occasions.
“Sure, there’s stigma and boundaries. However I did not really feel that I want to talk English to run. For me operating means you have received trainers on and you may conquer the world.
“I did not really feel the necessity to slot in or change… I do know Muslim girls who’ve confronted stereotypes.
“If an individual who would not know me says one thing to me… I’m not going to react. I really feel it’s nothing to do with me, however they is perhaps going by means of one thing themselves.
“It isn’t simple to be that approach. However it’s a must to be so stable in your basis.”
Ms Painda juggles13-hour shifts working within the hospital along with her operating, in addition to providing private health coaching.
She was featured within the November difficulty of Girls’s Working for being a task mannequin for girls across the globe.
Through the years, she has been an envoy for Free to Run, a charity set as much as empower girls by means of sport in Afghanistan and Iraq.
She stated her love and fervour for operating and nursing stored her going.
Ms Painda hopes to be “a voice for change” and an inspiration for different girls, particularly from the Muslim neighborhood.
She has additionally paid tribute to her household and known as them her “spine”.
“Life for girls in Afghanistan is extraordinarily difficult. It’s heartbreaking to see them being disadvantaged of basic rights,” she stated.
“After I crossed that end line in Chamonix, I felt that actually all of the Afghan girls have been with me. I felt so sturdy and so nice. It was a gorgeous expertise.”
She added: “There may be a lot going round on this planet – in Afghanistan, to Hazara folks, in Palestine, in Lebanon. So if we will unfold kindness at any alternative, we should take it.
“I’m not going to cease operating or elevating consciousness in regards to the points. If I can change one life, both by means of operating or by means of nursing and kindness, I’ll preserve going.”
