Fatine
“Women over centuries have been fighting for their rights so that us, women of today, can have the life we are having today. Which means we need to keep fighting for our rights to make life easier for the ones that will come after us.”
Fatine’s determination and grit stemmed from the desire to break free from her strict upbringing and discover her true capabilities. She is someone who often looks out for others, and from a young age, she worked hard to provide financially for her family; this helped her to develop a fiery drive and passionate heart. Her mental and emotional toughness were sharpened by the adversities she faced growing up, and when sports and fitness became an outlet for her, her physical strength magnified. She shows us that one’s environment does not have to define them, and that believing in yourself can help you to transcend any obstacle. Meet Fatine. This is her story.
K: Please introduce yourself!
F: My name is Fatine Ibtihaj, I am 25 years old. I am a Moroccan girl from a very small town between Casablanca and Rabat, called Mohammedia, especially Ain Harrouda. I graduated with a Master’s Degree from the National School of Business and Management.
My life wasn't the easiest but I have great memories within my family, a very few friends, but most of the time it's only my little family and my best friend. I did not start sports at a young age but can see myself excelling at them.
I now work as a Digital Marketing Manager at a very big sports wear and equipment company. I also offer online sports coaching services and have started a very small business in the perfumes industry.
K: Describe yourself in your own words
F: "I was made for this, I was born to win" -Carrie Underwood
Describing myself might be the hardest thing for me to do. But I'll try to let you guys understand and know more about me and the life I am having.
I'll start by saying that I am a strong person with a strong soul. As I've said before, the life I had till now wasn't the easiest. As everyone else, I have been through shit and that shit made me the person I am today. Growing up among the wrong people affected my childhood in a negative way. As a child, I saw my mother fighting every day to afford us peace, me and my 3 siblings. We were living in a psychological war, but my mom was that voice telling us not to give a F about people who don't care about our feelings. We then ended up having strong personalities, people that can't be hurt by words.
As a child, simple things weren't afforded to me (going out with friends, joining a gym/sport, going to the cinema), my life was so limited that even going to the commercial center was a privilege to me. My father is a very hard person to deal with, he never gives you credit for anything and before you even ask for something you know the answer. I kept asking all these years just to not regret never asking and have the doubt that it could work when I haven't asked. I was always scared to talk to my father that whenever I wanted to talk to him, I would start crying at the same time.
Growing up, I was broke many times so I ended up thinking only about me and my little family, and how I could be able to afford them. At a very young age, I started selling makeup, and with the money I got, I tried to answer to my family’s needs. I then worked at a call center at the same time as my studies and was able to afford the minimum possible for my family.
At the age of 19, I hardly convinced my father to travel with my friends. That's how I had my first of several other trips, which allowed me to learn much more about life and strengthen myself even more.
At the same age, I started sports. The purpose was to be strong physically as much as I was mentally. I started fitness after watching several videos of Dana Linn Bailey and was so inspired and fascinated by her. I then started boxing at the age of 21, had a few sessions with a coach, and then kept up learning on my own by watching videos on YouTube and taking them into practice. Later by June 2020, I joined an MMA gym after meeting my best friend who was already going to that gym. He is the person that helped me a lot through this and taught me the most so I was able to have a first fight in the first week of July 2021, which I won due to my opponent retiring after the second round.
I am a very kind person, loving, sharing and I can also describe myself as a very motivated person and ambitious; I am oriented by my hunger to success.
While listening to Carrie Underwood's song, "the champion" I can see myself through her lyrics. So I'll sum up the answer to that question by saying one of her sentences: "I am invincible, unbreakable Unstoppable, unshakeable. They knock me down, I get up again" and "I've been working my whole life, And now it's do or die"
K: What is your favorite thing about yourself?
F: Having a great heart even with all the bad life has showed, wishing the best to everyone and never being jealous of others’ success. I am a strong independent woman and capable of making my life better.
K: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that has defined you or made you stronger?
F: My life is a series of stories that have defined who I am and made me stronger, but there is that one story that crosses my mind when reading this question, and it was the turning point at a certain period in my life.
I'll take you with me back to when I was 15. The situation in our family home wasn't as peaceful as a youth needs. My father's family wasn't the best. They always tried to make obstacles between my dad and us (my mother, siblings and I).
I once was visiting my grandmother (mother's mom), she lives by the beach. I had some great moments there with my family. The day came to come back home, and it was a day I always hated. Once home, my father stood in front of me asking me why I come and go, kissing with men I don't know in cars. I was more shocked than I had ever been before. I was a student in a private school, the school bus took me from home to school and then got me back everyday, right in front of my father's eyes. On the weekends and after school, I wasn't allowed to go out on my own, so to be at the end in front of my father hearing him tell something he heard from someone else and believed… I surely defended myself because I wasn't able to accept being accused of something that isn't me and that touched my dignity so much. While defending myself, yelling, crying ... "You will never go to school again, if they want to keep accepting you for free then keep going" said my father while I was crying. I then had my very first nervous breakdown. At that moment I knew that no one can have your back forever, or believe you and in you forever, but yourself.
That's how I started working on myself to be the person I am today and who I still am pushing to become — the diamond in my imagination.
K: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
F: Patience, never give up. I know it's hard for you to keep going, I know you're crying on your pillow many nights. You feel so much loneliness and weakness. But keep going on your way, think about yourself first and keep making the choices that seem right to you. The right ones will make you happy, and the wrong ones will make you strong. And be sure, one day when you'll be turning 25 you'll be proud of you, of the process, of the path and more hungry for success, peace and work on your stability.
K: What does being a woman mean to you?
F: Being a woman in a world of men is hard for all of us. But we only have two choices, not more. The first is to accept that it's a world of man, as most women do especially in our Arab culture and live to serve a man. The second is to get out of that zone and make a print in the world. Women over centuries have been fighting for their rights so that us, women of today, can have the life we are having today. Which means we need to keep fighting for our rights to make life easier for the ones that will come after us.
K: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
F: I was inspired by so many women during my life, starting with my mother Aicha, wo I love a lot, she inspired me the most and keeps inspiring me everyday.
Oprah Winfrey, one of my biggest sources of inspiration.
Dana Linn Bailey taught me how to fight for what I want.
Cris cyborg is the person I think about whenever something feels hard to me.
Amanda Nunes is the symbol of consistency and determination to me.
Michelle Payne is one of the women that fought for us.
I am also inspired by all the women that lived the hardest life and suffered from different stuff but chose to keep going no matter what, I would like to tell them that they matter, thank you for being who you are.
But my message today will be to the person that inspired me the most, Aicha Azzoune, my mother. I want to thank her but a million thanks won't allow me to thank all she did for us. She is an example to women who fight everyday for their kids and invest themselves to afford a better life for their childs. She taught me how a person can be so strong and still have a pure soft heart. She is the type of person to have a bird's heart. She cries for everything, laughs for everything. She had a very, very hard life, but this life couldn't take away her humanity. My mother is the person that believed in me since day one and who is proud of me the way I am. I love you mom.