{"id":37561,"date":"2026-05-22T21:22:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T17:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rukhshana.com\/en\/?p=37561"},"modified":"2026-05-22T21:28:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T17:58:27","slug":"zakiya-ahmad-becomes-first-afghan-woman-to-climb-everest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rukhshana.com\/en\/zakiya-ahmad-becomes-first-afghan-woman-to-climb-everest\/","title":{"rendered":"Zakiya Ahmad becomes first Afghan woman to climb Everest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 31-year-old mountaineer who campaigns for women\u2019s education has become the first Afghan woman to climb Mount Everest, according to climb organisers and her family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zakia Ahmad, who also goes by the name River, reached the summit of the world\u2019s highest peak early on Thursday, as hundreds of climbers took advantage of good weather conditions to make a push for the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Video <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reels\/DYlgzxuR1V5\/\">posted on Instagram<\/a> showed the organisers of her expedition speaking to a jubilant Ahmad on the phone from the summit. \u201cPlease call my mum!\u201d she is heard shouting down the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to Rukhshana Media <a href=\"https:\/\/rukhshana.com\/zakia-ahmad-the-mountaineer-who-wants-to-conquer-everest-in-the-name-of-afghan-girls\/\">in Farsi in March<\/a>, before heading to Nepal for her climb, Ahmad said she wanted to climb Everest in the name of Afghanistan&#8217;s girls.&nbsp;Whenever she feels short of breath in the mountains, she feels inspired to carry on by thinking of them and of their future, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She\u2019d earlier posted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo\/?fbid=1593642606094555&amp;set=pcb.1593643089427840\">a photo of herself<\/a> on top of Mera Peak, a popular climb for mountaineers preparing to scale Everest, carrying a piece of paper with the words: \u201cClimbing for woman\u2019s freedom, education and mental health worldwide.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy sister made history by climbing Mount Everest as the first Afghan woman,\u201d Ahmad\u2019s sister Muzhgan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/story.php?story_fbid=2912968729050318&amp;id=100010116582298&amp;mibextid=wwXIfr&amp;rdid=dpe6O90CbUYosiVo\">posted on her Facebook page<\/a>. \u201cHer journey was not just about reaching the summit; it is a symbol of courage, resilience, and hope for millions of girls and women who dare to dream beyond limitations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ahmad has also climbed Mont Blanc in France, Nanda Devi in India, and Nawshakh, Afghanistan\u2019s highest peak at 7,402 meters above sea level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She told Rukhshana Media that she had been training continuously throughout 2025 in preparation for climbing Everest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She also launched a fundraising campaign on the \u201cGoFundMe\u201d platform to cover part of the expenses for the expedition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her success comes at a time when the Taliban have banned women\u2019s participation in sports in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 31-year-old mountaineer who campaigns for women\u2019s education has become the first Afghan woman to climb Mount Everest, according to climb organisers and her family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37562,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[966,900,9581,902],"tags":[11534,11533],"class_list":["post-37561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-en","category-news-en","category-our-work-en","category-reports-en","tag-mount-everest","tag-zakiya-ahmad"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - 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