© Copyright Brooke Warren 2024

Before the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan, before the Taliban took control of the country, these women found meaning through mountaineering and climbing together. 

Shegufa, 18, Neki, 18, and Saeeda, 19, watch three boys zip by on mountain bikes while on a hike outside of Kabul, Afghanistan. It is accepted for boys to do sports, but the girls have had rocks thrown at them while biking and climbing with a nonprofit ca
The girls who participate in the Ascend program run laps during their weekly workout at a local gym in Kabul, Afghanistan. They are preparing for a 2-week expedition to go climbing and mountaineering in the Panjshir province, a culmination of months of tr
Shegufa, 18, and Farahnaz, 19, approach a climbing area with a guard in tow. Even though Panjshir is a closed province, requiring passports to get in, the Taliban are in control only one valley over. Additionally, the local shepherds may be surprised or a
Shegufa laughs and dances with the other Ascend girls while Saeeda rock climbs in the background. The girls involved in Ascend have overcome illiteracy, child marriages, domestic violence, and fleeing the country. While they may never be able to fully esc
Saeeda, 19, prays while on a mountaineering trip in the Panjshir province in Northeastern Afghanistan. In 2018, Panjshir was one of the government-controlled provinces, so it was deemed a safe place for the team of girls to go on an expedition. The valley
Each night while on their expedition in the Panjshir province, the girls of Ascend danced. They let their hair down, giggled and grooved. When the Taliban first gained power in Afghanistan in the 1990s, dancing was outlawed. In 2018, the very act of these
Shegufa, 18, Neki, 18, and Saeeda, 19, adjust their outfits and hijabs before heading home after working out in Kabul, Afghanistan. The girls have been targets for harassment due to their involvement with outdoor sports and Ascend, so they try to adhere t
Shegufa, 18, sets up for her family dinner at home in Kabul, Afghanistan. Shegufa dreams of being a mountain guide, but she says she feels like she Òlives two lives.Ó She is expected to be at home, helping out, like the other women in her family, but she
Shegufa, 18, shares a traditional meal, illuminated by a bottle of petrol, with her family at their home on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. Since Shegufa was associated with Ascend, she had the non-profitÕs support to be able to move to Germany when
Shegufa sleeps on the bus ride back to Kabul after two weeks camping in the backcountry with the rest of the Ascend team. Even though she is returning to her normal life helping around the house where she is relegated to ÒwomenÕs work,Ó she dreams of an A