In the city of Rawalpindi, a young girl grew up in a protective environment that limited her adventures to the confines of her neighborhood.
Naila Kiani, now one of Pakistan’s most accomplished mountaineers, wasn’t even allowed to explore the small forest near her home alone a restriction that makes her current achievements even more remarkable.
Born into a society where women’s roles were traditionally defined by home and family, Kiani’s early life gave no indication of the heights she would eventually reach. Her childhood was marked by academic focus rather than athletic pursuits, though not by choice. “They didn’t have what I wanted to do,” she recalls of her school days, speaking of her interest in martial arts, horse riding, and boxing sports that were largely unavailable to young Pakistani girls at the time.
A Turn Toward Independence
At 17, Kiani made a decision that would shape her future approach to challenges. She moved to the United Kingdom to study aerospace engineering at Queen Mary University London, making a pact with her parents that she would work to pay her own way. This leap into independence marked her first major climb – not up a mountain, but out of her protected childhood environment.
That was when real life hit me, Kiani reflects. I had lived in a protected environment in Pakistan, my parents gave me everything. But I made the choice to go to the UK to study.Working full-time while pursuing her degree taught her a fundamental lesson that would later serve her on the mountains: “No matter how hard something is, if you put your heart in it, you can do it.
The freedom of life in the UK opened doors to pursuits that had been out of reach in Pakistan. She learned to fly two-seater planes, took up diving, and finally found her way into boxing, becoming an amateur competitor. Yet the mountains still waited in her future, their call unheard until a fateful event in 2018.
An Unexpected Summit Calling
The story of how Kiani discovered her passion for mountaineering reads like a script writer’s dream. In 2018, she chose to have her wedding photos taken at the K2 base camp, a decision that would transform her life. The photo shoot went viral and loved by many, but more importantly, it introduced her to the local mountaineers and porters who would inspire her to enter their world.
What started as an adventurous photo opportunity sparked something deeper. The trek to K2 base camp, though challenging, awakened a love for the mountains that would prove impossible to ignore.
“I had no idea growing up that I would be a climber one day,” she says. “It all began with an adventure, which later turned into a passion.”
Breaking Barriers as a Mother
Unlike many professional climbers who start young and single, Kiani began her mountaineering journey while on maternity leave after having her second daughter. In 2021, she achieved her first major summit, climbing Gasherbrum II (8,035 meters), becoming the first Pakistani woman to reach an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan.
The five-week journey to the summit of Gasherbrum II tested every aspect of her preparation. “It was physically very hard. The high altitude was challenging. I was exhausted,” Kiani remembers. Coming from Dubai’s desert climate, she found the cold particularly brutal. “Getting up and walking over to eat and pee was a nightmare.”
During this expedition, she met Ali Raza Sadpara, who would become her mentor and help transform her from an adventurous newcomer into a professional climber. Sadpara, who had climbed Pakistan’s five 8,000-meter peaks a record 17 times, saw potential in Kiani that she hadn’t yet recognized in herself.
Tragically, Sadpara would later die during preparations for a K2 climb in May 2022, but his influence on Kiani’s mountaineering career proved invaluable.
The challenge of balancing motherhood with mountaineering required precision planning that rivaled her climbing strategies. “I just wanted to climb the mountain and I thought, how do I resolve this roadblock? How do I leave two kids behind?” she recalls. Working as a senior vice-president at an international bank in Dubai added another layer of complexity to her aspirations.
With methodical determination, Kiani built a support system to ensure her children’s care during her expeditions. She consulted physiotherapists and doctors about postpartum athletic training, carefully preparing her body for the extreme demands of high-altitude climbing. “It wasn’t easy trying to find that information online,” she notes, highlighting the scarcity of resources for mothers pursuing extreme sports.
Rapid Ascent to Record Books
From 2021 to present, Kiani’s achievements have accumulated at an unprecedented pace. She has summited 11 of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, including Mount Everest, K2, and Nanga Parbat. She became the fastest among both Pakistani men and women to achieve this feat, completing these climbs in just three years.
The physical challenges of mountaineering take on additional dimensions for women. “Climbing as a woman is even harder because there are not many women who climb,” Kiani explains. “It’s not easy to learn how to prepare yourself or about whatever challenges we may face as a woman.” She speaks candidly about dealing with monthly cycles and hormonal changes at extreme altitudes, breaking taboos by addressing realities rarely discussed in mountaineering literature.
Changing Perceptions
“Pakistan is known as the land of mountains,” she says, discussing her broader mission. “I want to climb Pakistan first, I want to promote what Pakistan has to offer. There is so much beauty but the perception is so negative.”
Having lived in both the UK and Dubai, she understands how her homeland is often viewed through the narrow lens of terrorism and conflict, overlooking its rich natural heritage and tourism potential.
As the only female athlete to receive Pakistan’s highest civilian honor, the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Kiani has become a powerful symbol of changing possibilities for Pakistani women.
“Pakistan has changed a lot since I lived there but there are still some issues around women empowerment. It was worse when I grew up – there were so many things you couldn’t do.”
Looking Forward
With plans to complete all 14 eight-thousanders by next year, Kiani remains focused on her goals while maintaining perspective on their broader significance.
Her advice to aspiring female mountaineers reflects this balance: “Begin this journey with genuine intentions. Nowadays, many individuals pursue climbing for the sake of fame and often remain unsuccessful in reaching the summit. Instead, climb for the pure love of mountaineering.”
From the protected environment of her childhood home to the world’s highest peaks, Naila Kiani’s journey represents more than personal summits. It demonstrates the power of determination to overcome not just physical barriers, but social and cultural ones as well.
As she continues to push boundaries, she carries with her the hopes and dreams of countless women who see in her success the possibility of their own summits, whatever they might be.
