Zahrah Mahmood, aka ‘The Hillwalking Hijabi’

Today’s guest is Zahrah Mahmood, known as @the_hillwalking_hijabi on Instagram. Zahrah is a hiker who lives in Glasgow. She only got into hiking three years ago when a friend took her out for a walk to reduce the stress of her chartered accountant exams. Since then, the outdoors has transformed her previously city-orientated life. She now spends dozens of weekends in the hills, highlands and on the Munros of Scotland and counts down the hours for her next adventure. Zahrah is hugely motivated in encouraging other Muslim women to get into the outdoors and experience the physical and mental benefits that she’s felt from it. She says that she noticed early on in her hiking life “how few people like her” were in the hills having adventures and she wants to change this. Through her social media Zahrah puts particular emphasis on showing how accessible hiking can be, offering advice for beginners and answering any questions for those intrigued but perhaps too unsure to start. She hopes that by showing that a hijab-wearing woman can have adventures outdoors, more women will follow in her footsteps, and the hiking community will become more representative. I went to visit Zahrah at her home in Glasgow to hear more about how hiking has changed her life and how it’s inspiring her to get others outdoors too. I hope you enjoy the podcast! You can see photos of Zahrah and her adventures on theoutdoorsfix.com or on Instagram, @theoutdoorsfix * The Outdoors Fix is a podcast hosted and produced by Liv Bolton @liv_outsideuk on Instagram.