Scaling peaks and breaking barriers

The first Bangladeshi all-women winter expedition to Nepal's Langtang region concluded on January 11, marking a significant step for gender equality in adventure sports.
The team of five mountaineers—Nishat Mazumder, Yasim Lisa, Arpita Debnath, Mousumi Akthar, and Tahura Sultana Rekha—scaled three peaks under the banner 'Sultana's Dream Unbound', reports The Kathmandu Post.
Inspired by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain's seminal feminist text Sultana's Dream (1905), the expedition symbolised empowerment and breaking societal barriers.
The mountaineers initially aimed to summit Yala Peak (5,500m), Baden Powell Peak (5,857m), and Naya Kanga (5,844m). While they successfully scaled Yala Peak, hazardous winter conditions forced them to abandon plans for Baden Powell Peak and Naya Kanga. Instead, they summitted Surya Peak (5,145m) and Gosaikunda Peak (4,380m).
"This expedition tested every aspect of our mountaineering skills," Lisa said. "Inspired by Begum Rokeya's teachings, I learned to dream, and now my dreams are unbounded."
Mazumder, the first Bangladeshi woman to summit Everest, highlighted the challenges at Baden Powell Peak. "We set up base camp at 4,600 metres and opened the route to 5,400 metres, but crevasses made it impossible to continue. Rather than give up, we adapted," she said.
The expedition was organised by Abhijatri, a Bangladeshi organisation promoting adventure and gender equality, with support from the Liberation War Museum. A press meet celebrating the achievement was held on Monday in Kathmandu, where Unesco Representative to Bangladesh Dr Susan Vize hailed the expedition as embodying the spirit of Sultana's Dream.
Debnath, a first-time trekker, said the experience was transformative. "It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves," she said, quoting Sir Edmund Hillary.
The organisers announced plans to make the expedition an annual event and to release a Nepali version of Sultana's Dream. "This journey has taught us to not only dream but to conquer," Mousumi said.
For Rekha, the mountains are her calling despite societal doubts. "Mountains are my mother," she said. "I will always prioritise my dreams."
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