Kulsoom has got the media attention when she wanted to be fully covered and compete in the 2011 US National Weightlifting Tournament that took place in July, she was told she could not because of the way she dresses. However, that did not stop her. In fact, she recently flew to Paris to compete at 2011 World Weightlifting Championship in the 48KG, C class division, the first and only Pakistani female to do so.
In an e-mail interview with me, she said: "I do not have an ultimate goal. It was the same when I started. I just did it, and kept going with it. I did not even have goals of competing, but that just happened along the way, as did everything else till now. It has also been unexpected."
Kulsoom has inspired me in a way I don't think anyone else can. She has pushed through boundaries, went out of her way and got special clothes designed for her and still held on to her Hijab...just to do what she loves to do: lifting weights.
"I did not have a role model in hijab for weightlifting...but I have admired the accomplishments of other females in sports. The dedication it takes and the skills you gain was something I wanted to get."
Her fitness journey started close to her graduation from grad school; Kulsoom used to practise Taekwondo until she learned about Olympic Lifts in 2007. She then started her Olympic Weightlifting training alongside doing Crossfit.
"I loved to lift, and I would attend separate class sessions on weightlifting in addition to doing Crossfit workouts. Finally, at the beginning of 2010, my coach convinced me to go to an open local weightlifting competition in March."
She then continued into competing at events so she can qualifies. Despite her hard-work, I asked her if she faced any challenges training in a scarf.
"With each activity, there is adjustment and experimentation. I remember a few times when I did have done some overhead lifts, Snatch or Jerk, the barbell made the scarf fly up and over my face. I still finished the lift, but I then adjusted my head scarf accordingly," she said, a situation I have faced myself!
Unlike majority of those training, she would train fully-covered, head to toe, and often times people would ask her how she feels about it.
"A lot of people wonder if I get "hot" because of the extra layers of clothing but I am used to it, I tell them," adding she has been wearing the scarf since she was 14 years old.
Many people can really learn about "fighting for what you believe in" through her story, and inspired me she did.
"I hope it will help encourage other women to try a sport and compete. Definitely, if I knew and was exposed to this when I was younger, I would have started back when I was a child."
Her message to women out there? "There is no reason to consider this sport taboo or masculine, it's far from the truth," she said.
To know more about Kulsoom:
Click HERE to visit her Facebook Page.
Click HERE to visit her Website.
Click HERE to visit her Twitter Account.
Yours Truly,
GymFreak @999fitness
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