From past few years, women in Kashmir are venturing into fields, which were considered all-male bastions. Running restaurants to becoming photojournalists, young women here have left no stone unturned to break the societal stereotypes that limit a female’s working circle.
Mehreen Amin belongs to that minuscule population of Kashmiri women, who successfully broke the taboos to create their own niche.
This 24-year-old downtown girl from Bohri Kadal claims the title of Kashmir’s first professional female fitness trainer and women exclusive gym owner.
Mehreen’s story is a tale of overcoming personal and social challenges and following her heart.
Since 2016, she is running ‘Fitness Hub Healthcare Center’ gym near Islamia College, Hawal.
Mahreen, who was earlier interested in photography says that her encounter with fitness world took place when she was not doing well with her health and had started gaining weight.
“I had just passed my class 12 and went to Delhi where my brother was working, on his continuous insistence I joined a gym to lose weight. That is when I first ever in my life stepped inside a gym centre. My female instructor there was a great professional, she developed my appetite in the fitness field and I lost 30 kg in few months. It was a great change in my life,” Mehreen said.
Later that year Mehreen’s fitness trainer on seeing her growing interest recommended her to go for a professional course of a gym trainer. She did one-year diploma in fitness management and became a professional gym instructor.
However, when she returned home, Mehreen has no intention to start her own gym given the conservative nature of the society here.
It was only after, she recalls, joining a gym in Srinagar and the ‘disappointing experience’ there that she got pushed to start her own.
Finding out that most of the female instructors in Srinagar lack basic professional training and the women who are interested in fitness but have no knowledge about the fitness training, do not get value for their money at the gym centres, Mehreen decided to open a gym.
“I also felt that women here hesitate from joining a fitness centre because gyms here are mostly meant for men folk and females are given a few hour window when they can join the gym. That made me think that a female only gym would be a great thing where women can join whenever they want throughout the day,” says Mehreen.
But convincing her family abut something, which no one else had done earlier was a big challenge.
Despite receiving a cold shoulder from family initially, passion kept her going and ultimately she succeeded in motivating her parents.
“Seeing that I’m not ready to give up, my family started to support me in different ways although they had reservation about a girl single-handedly starting a business venture which is dominated by males,” she says.
After long search, she found a place in near Islamia College, which is barely few hundred meters away from historic Jamia Masjid. From finding the place to setting up the equipment, Mehreen did everything on her own without any support.
Despite building a good setup, Mehreen struggled to find women who were interested in visiting the gym at the beginning. But she remained consistent and didn’t lose her heart. Nowadays there are more than 100 women visiting her gym everyday.
“A place like mine, which is owned and run by a female and the instructors are also female, a costumer is comfortable with her body and can express herself very well in the gym,” Mehreen says, adding, “Such place gives a sense of security and comfort, as far as the privacy is concerned I have made it my rule to deposit all mobile phones at my office so no one’s privacy will be intruded while they are at the gym in a gym attire.”
Mehreen says her best reward is a satisfied costumer who has gone through a notable change.
Mehreen today has become inspiration for young girls who want to do something out of the box.
