A forced marriage campaigner will be the first Yemeni to test her limits against the world’s coldest extremities and set foot on the south pole to raise £80,000 for charity.

Tasleem Mulhall, 46, from Ham, will join an elite group of expeditioners for an estimated two-month trek, kicking off in November 2018, from the Ronne Ice Shelf, on the edge of the frozen Antarctic to the geographic south pole.

As an active campaigner, Ms Mulhall has already raised £1,120 of her target to help put an end to forced marriages and is using the challenge to celebrate her achievements since running away from her own forced marriage, aged 17, and inspire other women to do so as well.

Ms Mulhall, an international artist, said: “I don’t just want to conquer the South Pole to prove to myself what I’m capable of but I want to do it to show oppressed women all over the world what they are capable of.

“I want them to know that the world is full of possibilities and they don’t have to settle for a forced marriage, there is an alternative.”

The artist will undergo months of training in the UK before a final training camp in Norway in January to prepare for the treacherous 566-mile hike through altitudes which could exceed 11,000 feet and temperatures that could reach below -40 degrees Celsius.

Ms Mulhall added: “I am really looking forward to it and proud that I will be the first from my country because no one has done this.

“It doesn’t matter what you have gone through or are going through but I want I want to encourage other generations that they can go beyond what they have been told are their limits.”

Moving to the UK from South Yemen aged 14 with her family, Ms Mulhall broke connections with them when she refused to be forced into marriage and has since been living independently in Richmond for 17-years with four children.

Ms Mulhall added: “I ran away from our culture and tradition – I had to fight for my freedom and my rights.

“I didn’t have a role model and so I had to become my own and looking back at what I have achieved I am so proud - which is why I am taking on this challenge to prove to myself and to others that we can overcome anything.”

Ms Mulhall has been an ambassador for Freedom Charity who fight against forced marriage and FGM, a spokesperson on Child Marriage for Independent Yemen Group and has spoken about FGM at the International Women for Women and EBRD conference.

Ms Mulhall said: “I hope I am not the last Yemen to visit the South Pole and I want to encourage women all over the world that they can fight against forced marriage and don’t have to be subjected to that sort of abuse.”

Widely known for speaking out so openly and honestly about these causes Ms Mulhall has been asked to address MP’s in Houses of Parliament, appeared on various news stations and raised the issue of child marriage at the British Yemeni Society during their ‘Yemeni Women Know Your Limit’ conference, as well Magistrates Conference.

Ms Mulhall said: “Zac Goldsmith is completely backing me as well and donated £400 – he is also accompanying me to the Yemen embassy where the Yemen Ambassador will officially hand me the Yemen flag to put down at the south pole.”

Comments on Ms Mulhall’s gofundme page include

“Tasleem is taking on a huge challenge, and I wish her all the luck in the world. She is an extraordinary individual, and has my full support.”

Zac Goldsmith,

MP Richmond Park and North Kingston

“Tasleem is a role model for many women and I am very proud to have had the chance to support her.”

Yann Borgstedt

Womanity President

" Tasleem is a woman of immense courage and determination. Many people just talk about what they are going to do - but Tasleem gets up and just does it! I admire her commitment to making the world a kinder and better place, especially in relation to young girls' rights (child marriage, FGM). I urge everyone to support Tasleem in her latest challenge."

Guy Holloway

Headmaster, Hampton Court House

“Tasleem has supported Ham & Petersham SOS for many years ensuring that older residents from Ham & Petersham are kept mobile by helping to run our shopping bus service, raising awareness of our services through outreach events and always offering a helping hand at every opportunity. No matter how busy Tasleem was in her working life, she always found time to help others. Her determination to help other overcome their difficult and challenging situations makes her the perfect person to take on such a physically and mentally gruelling challenge. I know that the staff, volunteers and clients of Ham & Petersham SOS will be following her progress with admiration.”

Karen King

Ham & Petersham SOS Organiser