Three Bangladeshi Women Conquer Chulu Far East Peak

Bangladeshi women have successfully scaled Chulu Far East.

Three Bangladeshi women mountaineers have successfully summited Chulu Far East, a 6,059-metre peak in Nepal’s Annapurna range, marking the country’s first-ever winter ascent by women of a mountain higher than 6,000 metres, organisers said.

The expedition was carried out under the banner “Sultana’s Dream Unbound”, inspired by Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s pioneering feminist science fiction Sultana’s Dream, which was added last year to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Regional Register for Asia and the Pacific.

The climb formed part of the Women’s Winter Expedition 2025 – Season Two, a continuation of Bangladesh’s women-led winter mountaineering initiative launched last year to highlight the global recognition of Bengali women’s literary and intellectual legacy.

The team was led by Nishat Majumder, Bangladesh’s first woman to summit Mount Everest, and included Tahura Sultana Rekha and Yasmin Lisa. Nusrat Jahan Fabiha, a participant in the “Trek with Nishat 2025” programme, joined the expedition as part of the trekking team.

With financial support from Mastercard Bangladesh, the expedition aimed to scale two peaks above 6,000 metres in the Annapurna Himalayas. An initial attempt on Pisung Peak on December 7 was abandoned due to adverse weather and terrain conditions, just over 200 metres below the summit.

Regrouping after the setback, the team launched a fresh bid on Chulu Far East and reached the summit at 7:19am on December 15, organisers said.

On the eve of Victory Day on December 16, the climbers paid tribute from the Himalayan summit to the three million martyrs and 200,000 Biranganas of the 1971 Liberation War, while also honouring Begum Rokeya as a trailblazer of women’s emancipation in Bengal.

The expedition received support from the Liberation War Museum, endorsement from the UNESCO Dhaka Office, and was implemented by youth adventure organisation Avijatri. Organisers said the mission aimed to celebrate the resilience, imagination and courage of Bangladeshi women.