x THE WMN : Hasina Bharoochi
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
ON ME
My name is Hasina Bharoochi...
Age 36
Currently living in Houghton
I am happily married to someone who is as crazy as I am...
Mum of 3...who always find the most exciting ways to keep me busy...
I am an Islamic teacher and my students are one of the best things in my day...
In my line of work you don't usually find a female who wears the hijaab and face veil to be a road runner...and my aim is to show all women out there that anything can be done...
ON FITNESS
A few years ago I was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia and fibromyalgia...it is a very disabling autoimmune which leaves you in extreme pain and it affects quality of life...
I had been treated my many doctors and put on a variety of medication...all extremely strong...
I suffered from many of the side effects of the medication...and one day I realized I needed to do something other than resort to the meds.
I started with just walking..having no idea on how to run...and I changed my diet to good clean eating...
From walking it progressed and from there my health took a turn and I stopped all meds unless I was in unbearable pain...
I then met my trainer who has become a sister more than a friend in my life...Laila from burnclub..she coached me on running and from that day until today she's my running and training partner....
With Running and eating good i have managed to control this autoimmune most of the time...
The most difficult part of running was running with a veil on which we call niqaab...
It used to draw a lot of attention but now with Corona and the masks being compulsory everyone looks like me...
I have never really had bad experiences with running..we always make sure we are in a group for safety...that's our biggest worry as women running...we need to feel safe...
Besides running...i do strength training with Laila
ON BALANCE
The key to balancing training and running with my teaching and family time...is time management...
I'm a creature of habit and plan my day as such so I have time for everything...
In Islam a good balance and moderation is taught to us from young...and if we plan our day according to our 5 daily prayers we can have time to do everything...
ON WOMEN
The greatest challenge faced by women all over the world is abuse...any type of abuse...
Whether it be from a women or a man...
With GBV on the rise its more scarier for a female runner...that fear always looms over you...
But we find strength in numbers...
ON WOMEN IN SPORT
There are many factors which affect Muslim women in sports...
Because we are fully covered it does affect you training and your ability to go faster ect....but with the right clothing and time you adjust to it accordingly...
People tend to judge you when you a fully covered...like you shouldn't be out at all...
Which is sad because Islam doesn't limit you...the hijaab and niqaab are there for your protection and also as a means to get closer to your creator...
Hijaab doesn't mean to hide away...its a covering and an honour...
I would love to see more hijaabis out there training and giving that importance to their health and fitness...
ON COVID-19
I think the worst thing for me with the coming of covid was not being allowed out on the roads to run. Because I already cover my face with my niqaab the wearing of masks didn't change anything...my dressing pre covid is same as it is during the pandemic as well...
In terms of cleanliness we have to wash 5 times a day for prayers and the area in which we pray had to be absolutely clean...so the only way my life has changed during this time is just having my kids at home...and having no skin left on my hands after all the sanitizing
THE NEW NORMAL
Going forward with this pandemic I think we should remain positive and have faith it will pass...
Take our precautions as best as we can...
There's a saying by our Prophet muhammad peace be upon him...that every disease has a cure....
So I have firm faith in this and life will go back to normal...until then I still see everyone social distancing to their best ability and to wear masks and just be safe...
My aim for this year before lockdown was to do a 42 km...but unfortunately didn't happen...now we just enjoying the training and do more hiking...
FOR WOMEN
Don't ever give up or let anyone stop you from being the best you can be in whichever field you are in...
I am truly blessed to be surrounded by women in my life who support and always help me...
Other interesting reads for women's month feature the below women
- Tina Araneta , a Triathlete from Manila, Philippines
- Ashley Dier , a runner from Toronto, Canada who is a boxer now
- Alechia Van Wyk , an ASICS front runner from the UK, in love with Cyclo-cross and old school triathlon
#RunRevolution
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