This MBM conversation is with 20-year old Zahra Batool Sayeba, a resident of Minjee village near Kargil. Sayeba is an avid hiker but despite growing up in and around Ladakh, hiking or camping in the mountains was not a pursuit that she or her friends undertook, until an off chance with an older friend helped her discover this life.
In this conversation, Sayeba shares the wonders and joys that she finds through hiking, and despite community expectations, she continues to hike regularly offering a chance to many girls and young women like her to explore their home in more ways than one.
We also discuss the role of families and institutions in supporting girls’ outdoor pursuits, the changes she has witnessed around her owing to climate crisis, and imagine the possibilities where women of all ages can explore hiking and wandering in the mountains just for themselves.
Episode notes:
Some question why young women should climb mountains but hiking gives me freedom (Mohsina Gufran, The Guardian, July 2026)
Mountain Girls of Kargil | New Generation of Women Adventurers | Ladakh, India (Eleanor Moseman, YouTube, February 2026)
MBM visual identity design by Shazia Salam || Music by Jupneet Singh
