The first-ever Bangladeshi women winter expedition to Nepal鈥檚 Langtang region ended on January 11.
The team, comprising five women mountaineers, braved severe winter conditions to scale three peaks 鈥� Yala Peak, Surya Peak, and Gosaikunda Peak 鈥� under the banner of 鈥楽ultana鈥檚 Dream Unbound鈥�, starting on December 21.
A press meet was held on Monday in Putalisadak of Kathmandu to celebrate their accomplishment, reported Kathmandu Post on Tuesday. 听听
Led by Nishat Mazumder, the first Bangladeshi woman to summit Mount Everest, the team included Yasim Lisa, Arpita Debnath, Mousumi Akthar Api, and Tahura Sultana Rekha.
According to the organisers, the expedition was inspired by 鈥楽ultana鈥檚 Dream鈥�, a seminal text of Bengali feminist literature written by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, which envisions a utopian 鈥榣adyland鈥� where women lead innovations in science and education.
For the expeditors, the work, recognised in UNESCO鈥檚 鈥楳emory of the World Regional Register for Asia-Pacific鈥�, served as the symbolic foundation for their mission towards empowerment of Bangladeshi women in breaking societal barriers.听
Their main goal was to summit the 5,500m Yala Peak, 5,857m Baden Powell Peak and 5,844m Naya Kanga. After they successfully scaled Yala Peak, they were forced to abandon plans to summit Baden Powell Peak and Naya Kanga due to dangerous winter conditions.
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鈥榃e set up a base camp at 4,600 metres at Baden Powell peak and opened the route to 5,400 metres, but crevasses made it impossible to continue,鈥� Mazumder said.
At the press meet, the organisers announced plans to make the women expedition an annual event between Nepal and Bangladesh.
The expedition was organised by Abhijatri, a Bangladeshi organisation dedicated to promoting adventure, gender equality, and social responsibility and supported by the Liberation War Museum, Bangladesh, the nominating institution for UNESCO-MOWCAP inscription of Sultana鈥檚 Dream.听听
