Saudi woman conqueror of Everest seeks to inspire

UAE: Adventurer Raha Moharrak, the first Saudi woman and youngest Arab to conquer Everest, urged women in the conservative Muslim kingdom of the Gulf to “challenge themselves” as she arrived back in the region.

Her group of four, including a Qatari royal, a Palestinian and an Iranian, was greeted with cheers and garlands of flowers on arrival from Nepal late Sunday at Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates.

“It was unbelievable,” an emotional 25-year-old Moharrak, covered from head to toe in a black cloak or abaya, told AFP.

“I’m the first but I really hope I’m not the last,” she said. “I hope it awakens the intention in (Saudi) women to challenge themselves more.” Moharrak reached the peak of Everest on May 19, in a first for Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive and where their sporting activities are severely restricted.

She left her home in the Red Sea port of Jeddah on April 3 after a year and a half of rigorous training.

By reaching the highest point in the world, she said she has now achieved her ambition of climbing nine mountains, including in Europe, Tanzania, the South Pole and Argentina.

“As a Saudi girl, it’s normal that I get negative feedback, but it was minimal and the good outweighed the bad,” she added.

Awaiting her arrival at Sharjah airport was the Saudi embassy’s cultural attache in the UAE, Abdul Mohsen al-Harthi.

“This is a message from a woman who wants to say ‘I have reserved a place for myself among you men’,” said Harthi.

“The message is for men in Saudi saying that ‘I, a daughter of this country, have achieved top positions and am capable of doing whatever men can do’,” he said.

“You don’t have to go against society to achieve amazing things.” Moharrak, like many other Saudi women, hopes that “we do drive one day,” but if this is difficult to bring about, “there are so many other more important things you can be great at.” Her Palestinian co-climber Raed Zidan said he had left behind a political message on Everest.

AFP