subject: Bangladeshi Woman Dedicates Everest Attempt To International Charity [print this page] The truly global profile of Plan International, the charity which helps vulnerable and underprivileged children, is being again underlined by the brave attempt of a 31 year old accountant, Nishat Majumder, to become the first Bangladeshi woman to scale Mount Everest, the Worlds tallest mountain.
She will be joined on the climb by veteran Bangladeshi mountaineer MA Mohit and is set to begin her 2-month adventure on 9 April. Nishat is dedicating the climb to Plans Because I am a Girl campaign which aims to fight gender inequality and promote girls rights.
With a solid resume of expeditions already under her belt, Nishats latest challenge will be her biggest test yet as she tries to tame all 8,848 metres of the worlds highest mountain. She has been training hard and with her eyes set firmly on the top, dedicating the climb to Plans girls campaign seemed an obvious choice.
Taking on this challenge as a woman, I realised just how important it is for girls to be empowered. Plans Because I am a Girl campaign is all about having a voice and being strong, so I wanted to do this to show girls around the world that nothing is impossible, says Nishat.
It was 2003 when Nishat first discovered her passion for hiking up mountains and since then shes been no stranger to overcoming the odds, having already been crowned the first Bangladeshi woman to conquer 3 Himalayan peaks higher than 6,000 metres.
The journey to become the first Bangladeshi woman to beat Everest faces some stiff competition, though, as another Bangladeshi - Wasfia Nazreen - began an attempt on 11 March. But none of that will be on Nishats mind as she begins her own test of endurance.
Also up for the challenge is her climbing partner, Mohit, who is the only Bangladeshi to make it to the top of Everest, Manaslu and Cho-Oyu - 3 summits higher than 8,000 metres.
Plans Because I am a Girl campaign will be officially launched around the world on the International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October.
