Meet Zeina from Iraq. I met her through the platform of “girlslovetravel” and it just clicked. I knew I would like to stay connected with her and get to know her travel stories. I will start this series by her – so let’s get to know a bit about her and be inspired:
“I never even traveled before the age of 23, I never even thought I would be a travel blogger!! But look at me now? I still look at myself as a traveler because I haven’t been to that many places, but I tried my best to discover each country as much as I can.
My very 1st trip was to Turkey, and since then, I just knew that this is what I wanted to do! I wanted to fly (literally in an airplane hehe).
However, like any dream, there are always some obstacles that will knock you down. Mine was my passport and me being an Arab girl! I challenged and faced the norms about Arab women, but my passport is still hard to deal with!
I got rejected four times; twice from Europe and the UK each. It is sad, but because of those rejections, I have a story to tell!!
I am an Arab woman who is trying to change mindsets and stereotypes through traveling!
I would want to say something about my trip to Pakistan:
After my Europe visa got rejected, my dream to travel was crushed! I couldn’t visit any of the places I always dreamt about! It was a dark period of my life. However, I said this wouldn’t stop me, and I created another goal, and that goal was to visit countries no one wants to visit; like Pakistan and Jordon maybe?.
Pakistan is not like any other country, you won’t see beautiful pictures of it, nor will you see a lot of tourists talk about it. But I was destined to show more to the country and to enjoy every moment.
This step or this trip was a huge focal point in my life. After it, I learned I shouldn’t judge a country based on other people saying. I learned there are no terrible countries only bad experiences.
I was amazed at how advanced Pakistan is, the technology blew my mind away. There were metros, buses; you name it! Not like what you think! Women were in a position of power; they were working and going out with friends, I didn’t witness any discrimination what so ever. It was sad to see that I may be the only tourist there yet again, but I am glad that I was able to show this beauty to others.
Till now, I have managed to travel multiple countries…… and this list would only grow big with each day! InshaAllah.”
All the best for your mission, zeina. Much love and support from a fellow blogger. ❤
For other girls with a mission out there, I would love to get connected with you and lets share our stories. 😉
You can find zeina on instagram and facebook by the name “thezeinadiary”.
For more stories and inspiration, follow me on instagram and facebook. 😉
HijabiOnTheRun 