In the last few years, Aaliya Farooq has broken stereotypes which profess women’s inefficiency outside kitchen area. Aaliya belongs to Khanyar, a downtown area of Srinagar. She manages a gym and in the last 8 years, she has trained more than 20 thousand women. Aaliya pushes women to stay fit and healthy and this is her way of empowering women. She is married with two children.
Aaliya said that in 2000, her husband started a fitness centre in the Khanyar area. However, some personal reasons forced him to hire a male trainer. Aaliya says that women were not comfortable with the gym trainer so in 2012, she took charge of the centre. Within these 8 years, she has completely changed the centre. She said that she completed her fitness trainer course from J&K Body Building Association which is affiliated with Bodybuilding Federation of India before taking charge of the centre.
Aaliya said that fitness is a very important aspect of one’s overall well-being. By regularly exercising, we can avoid many diseases. She finds it unfortunate that women who are competing with men in almost every field aren’t taking care of their fitness.
She points out that women often get heart diseases, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and infertility issues as they don’t work or exercise. She believes that even if someone decides to avoid gym centres, he/she must exercise. A daily routine which includes only eating and sleeping is very dangerous for our health.
Aaliya said that she has trained more than 20,000 women in the last 8 years who were suffering from depression, obesity and other problematic issues. These women, after getting trained for just a few months, got fit and inspired and advice other women to do regular exercise in order to stay healthy.
Aaliya said that her path was not easy and she had to face many challenges in starting up her gym centre. Support from her friends, husband and in-laws boosted her confidence in overcoming hurdles. She appealed everyone to start workout from as early as possible and stay fit and healthy.