Raha Moharrak – the first Saudi woman and youngest Arab to summit Mount Everest – will be one of the speakers for the Invisible Haters panel at the ITP Live 2021 Conference – ‘The Power of Female Influence’ on March 30, 2021. Moharrak will be joined by Layla Kardan and Marriam Mossalli to discuss cyberbullying, online harassment, and unrealistic beauty standards on social media.
Moharrak began her climbing career with her first successful summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. Eight summits later, Raha Moharrak achieved the impossible by becoming the first Saudi woman to complete the Seven Summits – proving that a Saudi woman has what it takes to stand at the top of the world.
Her non-climbing achievements include being the first Saudi Presenter for an adventure show in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, being the 2017 winner for Esquire Woman of the Year and Emirates Woman of the Year, and collaborating with international brands like Adidas, Estee Lauder, Coca Cola, and Burberry.
Prior to the conference, Moharrak sits down with ITP Live to exclusively discuss everything from her climbing career to her first hand experience with online hate:
Your climbing journey began with your first successful summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa: What prompted you to start a career in climbing?
“I wanted to do something that was completely mine and against the grain of my family’s wishes: my parents wanted me to go back to Saudi and find the right match for marriage. I didn’t want that and took great pleasure in taking the rebellious road out.
I eventually chose climbing as the ultimate form of self expression. It ticked all the right boxes: adventure, travel, and sports as well as physical and mental endurance. It put me completely out of my comfort zone – which is something I became infatuated with”.
Can you describe your experience completing your first summit? Did you face any moments where you wanted to turn back?
“My first summit was so exhilarating. It made me completely fall in love with mountaineering: I went on to do 14 expeditions after Mt. Kilimanjaro. Thankfully – Mt. Kilimanjaro was an easy and straightforward journey. My Everest summit – in particular – was probably my most well-planned and executed climb: it went off without a hitch. After Everest, I went on to do the rest of the seven summits: Denali in North America was by far my worst experience. The initial trek for Denali should have only been a few days. However – due to bad weather – I got stuck in a tent on the mountain for 8 days. It was like a bad joke: a Saudi girl, a Russian, and an American stuck in a tent.
Denali had been my one and only failed attempt to summit a mountain: despite this, it taught me so many things. Most importantly, it showed me what I was capable of doing: when you’re up on that mountain, all you have is yourself. It’s up to you to take care of you. I learned from this failure and eventually returned to successfully summit the mountain”.
In 2012 – you joined an all Saudi female team to reach the Everest Base camp – and in 2013 you became the first Saudi woman and youngest Arab to summit Everest. How did this all Saudi female team come to form? What’s its story?
“I was invited by Saudi Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud to complete the trek: she chose 11 women to complete the ascent to the Everest Base camp in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. It was a phenomenal and inspiring initiative to be a part of”.
What is the number 1 piece of advice you’d give to Saudi women looking to accomplish their goals?
“This is a piece of advice I’d give anyone – not just Saudi women: It is to not fear failure. Just because you fail, does not mean that it’s the end of your road: treat it as a new beginning or a lesson. It astounds me that people don’t want to try new things because they fear failure. In my opinion, failure is a right of passage: world history has been written by failures and people must be brave enough to accept the lessons they bring”.
You’ve collaborated and acted as a brand ambassador, influencer, and spokesperson for many international brands. Who was the first brand that approached you and what type of engagement did you have with them?
“Louis Vuitton was the first big brand to invite me to do a collaboration shoot: A friend in the industry connected me to the opportunity – which shows the importance of who you know in terms of networking opportunities. I was featured and dressed for the ‘Journeys with Louis Vuitton’ campaign – which celebrated 30 years of French Maison in the Middle East.
The first brand to properly sign me was TAG Heuer: I am still a brand ambassador for them to this day. They never had a Saudi female athlete – and I really connected with their motto of ‘don’t crack under pressure’”.
What qualities are important to you when collaborating with a brand?
“I like Brands that help spread a message and shed light on stories like mine: the unsung heroes looking to shatter the glass ceiling of societal standards. It is also extremely important that the brand gives me space to be me and do not try to mold me according to social media influencer archetypes”.
Shifting over to public speaking – can you tell me a bit more about your experience as a keynote speaker at the IOC World Conference? Do you have any advice for women who are apprehensive about public speaking?
“My speech at IOC World Conference was absolutely insane. I had no public speaking experience beforehand – so having this opportunity be my first ever live speech was exhilarating to say the least. I just kept telling myself that if I could speak to this many people my first time – I could do it again.
My advice to women who are apprehensive about public speaking is to always speak from the heart: if you genuinely believe what you’re saying – you don’t need a piece of paper. If you memorize and recite – chances are that you will lose track, but again – if you speak from the heart – you will always know what to say next”.
What is your next big career goal?
“To be fair, it’s been hard to plan anything due to Covid-19. So many of my plans in 2020 have been cancelled or postponed. Ultimately, I want to continue to have a voice in the region’s sports and travel industries. It would be nice to have my own travel show but my big dream is to go to space. I think it is very possible that I will be able to accomplish this in my lifetime: I apply to every space opportunity I can”.
To end things off – you will be speaking on our Invisible Hater’s panel for our ITP Live 2021 Conference: can you give a brief teaser / overview of some of the hate you have faced online and via social media?
“I am extremely sad and infuriated by society’s current standards of beauty and how we can no longer appreciate a natural or unique looking woman. There is so much pressure to look alike that when we do see someone uniquely beautiful – we label them as such: uniquely beautiful. Not just beautiful.
On social media, I’ve been criticized about my face and my body. For the most part – it doesn’t affect me too badly. However, I do care when the online hate I receive affects someone else’s self image:
One instance that I recall was particularly heart breaking. Someone commented on my photo that I was fat. One of my followers – who was just a teenage girl – replied to him: ‘if she’s fat, then what am I’. It’s disgusting that some idiot sitting on the toilet can just senselessly attack an innocent girl’s self-worth.
One of the newest fads that I’ve faced is doctors on social media offering to do my nose for free in exchange for promotion on my platform. No one has the right to criticize or speak to me in this way. Society has completely lost its content with one’s own beauty.
Every girl I speak to wants to look like someone else. They want to do plastic surgery on their nose: why? To look like that one girl they saw on social media. I want women to relearn how to love themselves. I am not against plastic surgery: if a girl wants to change – they can. It only becomes toxic when they do it to fit someone else’s ideal rather than their own. Remember – beauty is subjective and ever changing. One day curvy is in and the next it’s out. So why put yourself through that. It’s so detrimental to one’s mental health.
Ultimately, I believe that we all have a social responsibility to accept each other for who we are. I have big messy hair and a sharp nose. And I am all for that”.
If you are interested in hearing Raha Moharrak discuss online hate more in depth, RSVP for in-person or online attendance to the ITP Live 2021 Conference here.