Ms. Samina Baig, the first Pakistani woman and the youngest Muslim woman who climbed Mount Everest at age of 21, along with her brother Mr. Mirza Ali visited Japan from 29 September to 3 October 2015. Ms. Samina is also the first Pakistani and Muslim (man or woman) to climb all the Seven Summits on the Seven Continents of the world.
During the visit Ms. Samina Baig and her brother had extensive interaction with a wide cross-section of Japanese civil society, mountaineers and diplomats based in Japan. They climbed one of the highest peaks in Japan (Mount Okuhotaka) literally the day after arriving in Japan.
In order to reach the youth of Japan, they made presentations and showed movie documentaries at Aoyama Gakuin High School (AGHS) and International School of the Sacred Heart (ISSH). The students, especially the girls, were thrilled to see the achievements of a young woman from Pakistan. This was also recognized by Mr. Seishiro Eto, Chairman, Japan-Pakistan Parliamentarians Friendship League (JPPFL) who was the Guest of Honour at the Adventure Diplomacy event at the Embassy where a movie regarding their climbing feats was screened.Special Guest H.E Mr. Madan Kumar Bhattarai, Ambassador of Nepal who interviewed the first Japanese woman who ascended Mount Everest, lauded Ms. Samina Baig as source of inspiration and an excellent example of what South Asian should be doing.
Ambassador Mr. Farukh Amil in his comments praised the “Daughter of Pakistan” highlighting that girls in the Muslim world could achieve anything even if they wanted to climb the highest peaks in the world. He also reminded the audience of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s advice to the youth on sports, exercise and adventure. Mr. Eto a senior parliamentarian warmly praised the achievements of Ms. Samina Baig describing her as marvelous example. He recalled his own experiences and stressed that Japan was a nation of mountaineering. He expressed the hope that Pakistan would participate in the “Day of the Mountain” to be celebrated in Japan next year. During her stay, Ms. Samina Baig and Mirza Ali had the opportunity to interact with and be interviewed by the leading Japanese media.
Embassy of Pakistan, Tokyo
7 October, 2015