Free to Run

Free to Run

Non-profit Organizations

New York, NY 2,272 followers

Advancing gender equity globally through running.

About us

Free to Run's mission is to advance gender equity globally through running. We do this by supporting girls and young women in conflict areas to change gender norms in their community through running and rights-based programs. Since 2014, we have worked with several thousand young women, whose achievements are too numerous to count. Free to Run participants include activists, TEDx speakers, Fulbright scholars, athletes with disabilities, national and international marathon runners, community leaders and so much more.

Website
http://www.freetorun.org
Industry
Non-profit Organizations
Company size
11-50 employees
Headquarters
New York, NY
Type
Nonprofit
Founded
2014
Specialties
Sport and Development, Outdoor Exploration, Afghanistan, Human Rights, Refugees, Basic Education and Gender Equality, Running, and Trail Running

Locations

Employees at Free to Run

Updates

  • View organization page for Free to Run, graphic

    2,272 followers

    Each year, Free to Run has a team of Ambassadors who use their running and other athletic endeavors to help raise funds and awareness for global gender equity and our work with girls and young in conflict areas. We are always in awe of this incredible team, and the feats they accomplish! Today we're turning the spotlight on Katya Guryeva who recently ran the length of Armenia over 22 days, securing the supported FKT on the Armenian Transcaucasian Trail. Katya ran 362km with almost 33,000m of elevation from the Armenian border with Iran to the border with Georgia - raising over $1,300 USD in the process. Congratulations Katya, and thank you so much for your incredible support of Free to Run! Check out Katya's Instagram @running_armenia for more on her journey. P.S. - There's still time to become a Free to Run Ambassador in 2024 if you have race plans coming up! Check out the link below for more information, or reach out to ambassadors@freetorun.org if you're curious about the program in 2025! https://lnkd.in/gWwrRhXq

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    2,272 followers

    On August 15 we shared some of the restrictions that have been placed on women in Afghanistan since the Taliban's return to power in 2021. But since then, a new set of 'vice and virtue' laws have been announced, which prevent women from even speaking in public. They must also not be heard singing or reading aloud, even from inside their houses. For failure to comply, women and girls can be detained and punished in a manner deemed appropriate by Taliban officials. For many of the young women we work with in Afghanistan, weekly Free to Run sessions are the only connection they have to their peers - and a rare opportunity to focus on their own physical and mental wellbeing. “Since the change of government, girls and women have been deprived of their right to education, work, development, and freedom, and all women have stayed at home. In these few years I have endured many hardships. Even now, after a few years, I cannot finish school and graduate - maybe this will remain an unattainable dream for me. I can’t go to courses safely, I’m afraid that something might happen to me. I have no hope of continuing my education, I have stayed at home forever. Doing nothing is just hopeless, and day to day you begin to feel you’re not useful anymore.” — Z (name changed) If you'd like to support our (secret) indoor strength and wellbeing sessions for young women, you can do so at freetorun.org/afghanistan

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  • View organization page for Free to Run, graphic

    2,272 followers

    August 15, 2024. 3 years to the day since the Taliban began dismantling the rights of women in Afghanistan - including the right to education, to participate in sport, to visit parks, or to move freely without a male guardian. Not to mention the return of public executions by stoning. Today we're sharing the stories of young women in our Afghanistan program, who feel passionately that movement, community, and wellbeing are crucially important in their lives. -------- “When the Taliban took over the government, I knew very well that they were long-standing enemies of women and girls, misogynistic people who saw women as inferior and submissive. This left me with countless unanswered questions about the future. What about us girls? Does this mean I have to abandon all my goals? This was unacceptable to me, but I still had hope and was searching for a way to escape this outdated society. I couldn’t accept being a slave. Every morning, I prayed that it was all a nightmare. It wasn’t, and I had to face the reality. I tried to adapt to the Taliban’s rules but wasn’t yet disheartened. I managed to find a job in a hospital’s children’s department, which made me happy. However, seeing girls around me who no longer have the right to education and choose their futures fills me with deep sadness. When I saw a thirteen-year-old mother whose child died in her arms, with no reaction due to her lack of understanding, and her husband called her a murderer, all my hopes were shattered. How can a thirteen-year-old girl suddenly become a mother? Is this our destiny? Do we have no right to our lives? How can I accept this bitter fate? This is my reality, and I hope that one day everything will change, and women will have their rights restored.” — N -------- “I am F, and I was a school student. I had such wonderful days. In the morning, I would wake up with a goal: going to school. I would get up happy and full of energy, wash my face, have breakfast, put on my school uniform, and grab my bag, ready to go to school with my friends. It was so pleasant to enter the school, greet my teachers and classmates, and start our lessons. After school, I would attend various courses. I enjoyed those days, but they passed too quickly. Now, those days are just a dream. I had real motivation back then, but now I can’t have those days even for a single day. The school doors are closed to me and my friends, and I can’t attend the courses I used to. Now, I wake up in the mornings without happiness or a goal. For three years, I have been at home with no activities. Some days I read books or write about my good days on paper. Life without a goal is so hard, but I pass through this difficult period with hope for the future, hoping for a day when I can achieve my goals and go to school or university again.” — F -------- Read more and learn how to support our work in Afghanistan on the Free to Run blog: https://lnkd.in/gDAzhhd8

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  • View organization page for Free to Run, graphic

    2,272 followers

    Tomorrow is August 15, which will mark three years since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. If you’ve been following Free to Run for a while, you’ll know that women and girls were forbidden from participating in sport in 2021, forcing us to suspend our operations in Afghanistan and evacuate our program staff. Since 2022, we've been delivering our clandestine ‘Omid’ program (indoor strength training and mental resilience sessions) delivered in secret to provide at least some small sense of hope and community for the young women who have been effectively trapped in their homes. The oppression of Afghan women under the Taliban has deepened each year, with increasingly brutal and restrictive decrees stripping them of their rights, freedoms, and dignity. These policies have pushed Afghan women to the margins of society, erasing decades of progress and forcing them into lives of fear and isolation. Tomorrow we'll be sharing their stories, but every day we stand behind the women who are no longer free. For a look back at what happened in 2021, you can watch the Free to Run film here: https://lnkd.in/gnb56EtV

    FREE TO RUN | The North Face

    https://www.youtube.com/

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    2,272 followers

    August 3rd marks ten years since the horrific Daesh (or so-called Islamic State) genocide against the Yazidi people in the Sinjar region of Iraq. A decade later, we remember the immense suffering endured by the Yazidi community and stand in solidarity with survivors, many of whom remain displaced from their homeland. Free to Run remains steadfast in our work to empower and support the healing journey of Yazidi girls and young women as they continue to navigate the aftermath of this tragedy - helping them reclaim their rights, pursue justice, recover, and reintegrate into society. Their voices deserve to be heard.

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    2,272 followers

    On Friday at 10.51 am Paris time, 100m sprinter Kimia Yousofi will represent Afghanistan in the Women's 100m Preliminary Round (Heat 3). ✨ Kimia is one of three women on the gender-equal Afghan Olympic team, selected earlier this year. Like its athletes, the head of Afghanistan's Olympic Committee and its secretary general are both in exile. As for Kimia, she left Afghanistan and received safe passage into Australia in 2022 - a year after the Taliban returned to power. This is Kimia's third Olympic games and as she told AFP in July, "It's an honor to represent the girls of my homeland once again - girls and women who have been deprived of basic rights, including education... I represent the stolen dreams and aspirations of these women. Those who don't have the authority to make decisions as free human beings." No Taliban officials have been allowed involvement with the Paris Games, but that has not stopped them from denying the participation of the incredible women representing Afghanistan. A Taliban spokesperson was quoted by AFP as saying "Only three athletes are representing Afghanistan... Currently, in Afghanistan girls' sports have been stopped. When girls' sport isn't practiced, how can they go on the national team?" Join us in standing behind Kimia as she runs on August 2, and behind every woman and girl in Afghanistan who should have the right to find joy in sport.

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    2,272 followers

    As today’s celebrations kick off the first #GenderEqualOlympics in Paris, we’re thinking of all the women around the world who are unable to participate in their sport in 2024 - including those in Afghanistan who have been forbidden under Taliban rule, and those affected by war and conflict in so many places. While Iraq has an all-male team this year, we’ll be closely following the women representing the Refugee Team, Palestine, and Afghanistan (despite their denial by the Taliban). Coming up next week we’re excited to watch Nigara Shaheen represent the Refugee Team in Judo. Born in Afghanistan, Nigara took up judo when she was 11, living as a refugee in Peshawar, Pakistan, as practising martial arts was a family tradition. Since September 2022, she has been living in Canada, where she studies and trains. And in a few days sisters Fariba and Yuldoz Hashimi will be cycling for Afghanistan despite having to escape the country when the Taliban came to power. As Fariba told the BBC recently, “This belongs to Afghanistan women. I am going to the Olympics because of them.”

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    2,272 followers

    Last week we shared the news of our brand new program in Palestine, delivered in partnership with Palestine Sports for Life. We’ve been overwhelmed with all the messages of support and we are so grateful to the entire Free to Run community for your commitment to, and passion for, gender equity through running. So many people asked how they can contribute to this initiative, and the truth is that your financial support will make a crucial difference in the success of this work. Just imagine being a young girl, navigating the hardship of being an adolescent, with the added stress of war and displacement - not to mention the pressure of gender norms and family honor in a patriarchal society. How moving freely with a collective of young women - pushing your limits, taking big breaths, feeling your own progress and growth, could impact your wellbeing. That's what your generosity will make possible. ❤️❤️ If you’d like to be part of our efforts to build the resilience of 200 girls and young women in the occupied West Bank - to enable them to feel the positive power of running freely - you can do so by donating at freetorun.org/palestine.

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  • View organization page for Free to Run, graphic

    2,272 followers

    Hands up in the comments if you can remember your first 5km race! ✋ The nerves, the anticipation, the utter despair when you've given it everything you have by the 1km marker and realize it's not over yet... or the joy of crossing the finish line with the cheers of a crowd. You may know that our year-long program in Iraq is split into two parts, and the end of June saw our teams celebrating the completion of their Learn to Run sessions with a series of 5km races. In Erbil, after approximately 25 minutes, cheers erupted as Lamia from the Baharka community stole the show, crossing the finish line first to a hero's welcome! In Duhok, the race was held at the Olympic stadium where the team brought incredible energy to the event, despite the scorching 40°C/104°F heat. Rawan from Sharya Camp crossed the finish line first, receiving a special trophy. “Yesterday, I couldn’t sleep because I was anxious about the race. I even had a dream where I failed to complete the required kilometers. But today, I feel ready and confident. I really enjoyed the experience” — KHAMLEEN “This race boosted my self-confidence and I’m excited to work hard to win in the upcoming races.” — SHAM Read more from the day and check out the photos/video on our blog: https://lnkd.in/gqg3-dPN

    Racing 5km in Iraq — Free to Run

    Racing 5km in Iraq — Free to Run

    freetorun.org

  • View organization page for Free to Run, graphic

    2,272 followers

    The next steps of Free to Run's journey are in Palestine. If you are moved by the situation for girls and young women and curious or want to do something...read on.

    View organization page for Free to Run, graphic

    2,272 followers

    In Palestine, girls and women are not free to run. For over 50 years, Palestinians have had their fundamental human rights violated on a daily basis in an environment of violence, insecurity, inequality, and inhibition to their freedom of movement. But what would running offer an individual girl’s wellbeing? Could long strides, self-propulsion, big breath help her navigate the stress of war and displacement in addition to the hardship of just being an adolescent? How might a collective of girls and young women moving freely, shift gender norms in a patriarchal society? We know that running can’t change everything - but it can absolutely transform girls’ wellbeing and societies’ views of what is possible for girls and women. This month, Free to Run and Palestine Sports for Life are launching a joint program to build the resiliency of 200 adolescent girls and young women in Palestine through running. The year-long program will take place in 10 sites across the occupied West Bank - from Jenin to East Jerusalem. This work in Palestine is inspired by the same concept that fuels our work in Afghanistan and Iraq: our innate belief in the freedom and right of all people to move, to run, to experience joy, and to discover their highest potential. We welcome you to join us on this journey as we continue to grow our work in the places on earth where girls and young women need it most. ✨ Read more about this program on our blog: https://lnkd.in/gNCyRRXX

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