Pakistan

Pakistani girls dream higher: Samina’s first 6000er climb at 18

Samina Khayal, Mirza Ali and Stelian Pavalache with other group members on Chashkin Sar summit, Aug 30, 2010.

Karakoram spires are setting the scene for young guns to show their true colors. In this case, news is even better as it is a local female rising star which has bagged her first ascent. At only 18, Samina Khayal (Officially Samina Baig) summited the previously unclimbed Chashkin Sar (6,400m) in Shimshal, in the Hunza-Giligit region.

Promoting adventure for Pakistani girls

Samina climbed along with her brother Mirza Ali (group leader), Romanian Stelian Pavalache (film maker and photographer), Tafat Shah, Yahya Baig, Salamat Khan and Arshad Karim .

The peak has been renamed “Samina Peak”, according to the team.

The expedition project was launched by Pakistan Youth Outreach, which is a educational program for youth mountaineering and awareness and promoting women adventurers. Mirza Ali is also the founder and president of PYO.

“The project’s main goal was to film a documentary promoting women adventurers in Pakistan,” Mirza told ExplorersWeb. “Thus PYO joined forces with Stelian Pavalache’s Satwa Guna Project–Illusion of Forms. This was for a film about a Pakistani girl climbing a Karakoram 6000er.”

Pakistani women climbers: Everest as ultimate goal

Humility at the top

Stelian Pavalache’s 2010 stage of the  Satwa Guna Project was named “Shimshali People”. It comprises of two 90-minute video documentaries and a photographic series “which wants to reveal, but not to judge, aspects of the status of women in the Muslim culture, traditions and local customs, beliefs and forms of mystical practices in the Pakistan, Karakoram area in an attempt to perpetuate and to sustain the conservations of authentic values,” the project website reads.

“Times have changed, and today women in Pakistan are working in areas previously designated for men (such as an army or police officer),” Stelian states. “Despite the progress, climbing is still an exclusively male domain. Lack of information in society about mountain sports, the fact that it is an expensive sport, prejudices about women’s inability to climb and the absence from home in a wilderness area are several reasons that explain the lack of women in the

Samina Khayal and Mirza Ali, siblings, pose at the summit

Pakistani alpine world.”

“This is part of a larger project that will culminate with a Pakistani woman climbing Everest, as Nepalese, Iranian and Indian women have done. No Pakistani woman has ever climbed a 8,000-meter peak–this is ironic if we think that Pakistan has five of the 14 peaks over 8,000 meters in the world.”

Text Source: http://www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=19642

Visit on facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=134071143271615&ref=ts

Visit website: http://pakyouthoutreach.com/

Related Articles

28 Comments

  1. Very WELL DONE,.beloved sister..indeed inciting nd couargeous.congratulations for this unprecedented feat. u r an inciting
    example 4 others.Brrrvo!

  2. The effort by Samina to climb a peak of 6000m is a moment of great pride for our whole nation especially for the people of Gojal .She has made history and will be remembered for it.We hope she continues her effort till she is on top of Everest.
    It to be mentioned here that the people of Shimshal have really set examples on many occasions which need to be followed by others to build a good image of Pakistan in the world… I pay tribute for their great efforts and wish them success in their endavours.

  3. Congrates to our sister we are proud of you specially the people of Hunza. May God give you a long life for further successes..

  4. Great JOB!!! Keep it up Samina.. I am sure you will make a world history in future by climbing the Mount Everest and Nanga Parbat as well. We wish you to make a history in your life being daughter of Gojal,Gilgit-Baltistan and in particular being a Pakisnati women.Keep it up!!!

  5. Congratulation Samina !!!
    On Behalf of me and My Family Safina also Congratulate You and Mirza .
    Well done Keep it Up My Sister.
    Ghulam Hussain
    Radiology
    DUHS&SIUT
    Pakistan

  6. we do apperciate the activities by those people whome the up comming genration take inspiration. samina has done a great jop as a fist yong pakistani climber and one day she will be very popular among the youth of pakistan…..Bravo! Way to go……….

  7. Dear Mirza and Samina,
    i would like to congratulat you all with your group of this big achievment, which is not only proud for us as a pakistani (shimshali) but we also proud of being as an ismaili that we have such a great and encouraging opportutnities not for only gents but its also for the ladies too.
    i hope you will continue this effort for the bettement of this sports(mountaineerning) .
    best of luck,

    Rehmat Raheem Sherazi

  8. Dear Mirza and Samina,
    i would like to congratulat you all with your group of this big achievment, which is not only proud for us as a pakistani (shimshali) but we also proud of being as an ismaili that we have such a great and encouraging opportutnities not for only gents but its also for the ladies too.
    i hope you will continue this effort for the bettement of this sports(mountaineerning) .
    best of luck,
    Sarfraz khan
    CAI.Badakshan
    Afghanistan

  9. We are proud of you my dear sister and daughter of GB. now sky is the limit for you. keep it up………………………..
    Goodluck

  10. Dear sweet sister,
    I am proud of you…..May Allah bless you for ever and wish you more success in every field of your life…..Wish you all the best

Back to top button