Wasfia conquers Everest as the 2nd Bangladshi Woman

Bangladeshi woman mountaineer Wasfia Nazreen conquered the summit of the Mount Everest early Saturday as part of her 'Bangladesh on Seven Summits' campaign, one of her associates said.

Wasfia, 29, reached the highest peak of the Mount Everest at 6:41 am, associate Korvi Rakshand told bdnews24.com in an email.

This is for the first time a solo Bangladeshi woman with no other team members has led an expedition to the top of the world after she started her journey on March 26 to mark the Bangladesh's 40th year of independence.

Her victory came within a week of Nishat Mazumder's expedition to the world's tallest mountain as the first Bangladeshi woman.

Nishat had ascended to Everest's 8,850-meter-high (29,035-foot-high) summit on May 19 from the northern side of the mountain in Nepal with M A Mohit, the second Bangladeshi to have conquered the Everest.

The indomitable Wasfia on Saturday reached the South summit with American guide Chris Klinke and two sherpas Nima Gyurme Dorje and Kusang Sherpa, according to the expedition's Facebook fan page 'Bangladesh On Seven Summits'

Rakshand said Wasfia called from her satellite phone from the Everest summit immediately after she got there.

"We got our independence, but we, women, are still fighting for freedom. This is to the women of Bangladesh who brave their lives everyday for freedom, peace and equality," Rakshand quoted Wasfia as saying.

As part of the Bangladesh on Seven Summits campaign, she has successfully complete two continents, the previous one being Aconcagua, the second highest of the Seven summits and the highest point outside the Himalayas.

On Dec 16, she reached the near-seven kilometer peak of Aconcagua in Argentina.

Wasfia had dedicated that victory to the struggle of the martyrs of 1971, calling on greater recognition for the contribution of the women who had participated and suffered in the War.

Musa Ibrahim, the first Bangladeshi to reach the highest peak, congratulated Wasfia in a Facebook post.

"She did it, many congratulations to Wasfia. Again, I am saying, this is (the) time for the women of Bangladesh. They rocked and proved: YES, WE CAN DO IT," he said.

Wasfia's 2012 Everest trip was sponsored by Bangladesh's Citybank Ltd as the lead sponsor, and Renata Ltd and Kazi Farms Ltd as co-sponsors. The expedition was supported by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), Himalayan Climate Initiatives (HCI) and Nepal's Everest Women's 7 Summits Eco-Action Team (EW7SEA).

Wasfia started 'Bangladesh on Seven Summits' foundation in July 2011. As part of this effort, she has already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.