3 days ago
Amputee Everest Climber Arunima Sinha to Speak at ILA Lecture
The oldest expat women's organization in the GCC, The Indian Ladies Association (ILA) Bahrain, has announced that sports legend and celebrated Motivational Speaker, Dr. Arunima Sinha will deliver this year's Leela Jashanmal Lecture, a prestigious annual event dedicated to empowerment, inclusivity, and dialogue.
She shall be joined by Bahraini para-triathlete Shaikha Al Shaiba and together, they will speak to an invitation-only audience about their journey to success despite physical challenges and how to turn adversity into advantage.
Padma Shri Mrs. Arunima Sinha, the world's first female amputee to summit Mount Everest and only the second globally to achieve this feat. A national volleyball champion, Arunima's life took a dramatic turn when she was thrown from a moving train during a robbery in 2011, resulting in the loss of her leg. Undeterred, she reinvented herself as a mountaineer, scaling six additional major peaks beyond Everest—a testament to her unshakable resilience, courage, and ambition.
Joining her is Shaikha Al Shaiba, Bahrain's renowned Para-athlete and motivational speaker, whose journey exemplifies strength, determination, and joyful achievement.
In collaboration with the Bahrain Disabled Sports Federation, ILA will also honor Bahraini para-athletes who have represented the Kingdom at sporting events globally, reinforcing Bahrain's commitment to empowering individuals across diverse abilities.
The event, to be held on May 31st at at the BIBF Auditorium, is open to all by invitation only.
'As the Indian Ladies Association prepares for its upcoming 70th year in 2026, of caring and nurturing the community, we are proud to celebrate the concept of women shaping our world through their amazing achievements, their courage, intellect and compassion,' said ILA Honorary President, Smitha Jensen, 'The Leela Jashanmal Lecture honors the spirit of our pioneering founding members and this year, we have built greater depth by reaching out to Bahrain's amazing and inspiring para-athlete community.'
