Samina Baig is a Pakistani mountain climber who broke all stereotypes about girls in society. She made an expedition to climb Mount Everest in 2013 at the age of 21 and Seven Summits in 2014. Samina is also third Pakistani and the first Pakistani woman to climb the Seven Sumits, including Mount Everest. This Pakistani lady is also the youngest Muslim woman to ascend Mount Everest. United Nations Development Programme appointed Samnia as a National Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan in 2018. She is also appointed as the brand ambassador of the Special Communication Organization (SCO), a telecommunication company in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The Iron Lady of Pakistan, Samina Khyal Baig, belongs to Gilgit-Baltistan. She was born on 19 September 1990 in a village, Shimshal, of Hunza Gojal. Her brother, Mirza Ali, trained her for the mountaineering expedition when Samina was a teenage girl. She said that “I was merely four years old when I started to climb.” She became a professional climber in 2009 when she was only 19 years old. She has been the mountain guide and expedition leader for Himalayas, Koh Hindukush, and Karakoram peaks. Samina also climbed the Chashkin Sar peak of Pakistan in 2010, and she is the first person to ascend it. She reached at Koh i Barobar in 2010 but can not climb it because of unfavorable weather conditions.
Samina is the third Pakistani and first Pakistani woman to complete Mount Everest climbing expedition on 19 May 2013. Two Indian girls Tashi Malik and Nungshi Malik, were also in her expedition team. They together waved flags of their countries, India and Pakistan, at the top of the mountain to demonstrate a message of peace and harmony between India and Pakistan. After mount Everest expedition, Samina stated in an interview that it had shown a sign of gender equality in Pakistan. “I let my sister climb Mount Everest without my assistance to give a message of women’s empowerment in Pakistan,” added her brother Mirza Ali. The government of Pakistan honored Samina Khyal Baig, a civilian award, Pride of Performance, for this achievement.
Samina Baig completed the mission of Seven Summit in 2014 at the age of 23. Her brother, Mirza Ali, accompanied Samina during the Seven Summits mission.
It was started in December 2013 when they started. Both climbed the highest peak of South America, Mount Aconcagua, in December 2013. This mountain is located in Argentina and 6, 916 meters in height.
They climbed Mount Vinson in January 2014. Samina and her brother successfully ascended the height of 4,892 meters of Mount Vinson in Antarctica. After that, they reached Tanzania in February 2014 for the expedition of Mount Kilimanjaro. It is the highest peak in Africa, with the summit of 5,895 meters. They successfully ascend this peak and proudly waved the green flag at the top.
Their next destination was Indonesia for the Carstensz Pyramid or Puncak Jaya. They both mount this peak with a height of 4,884 meters in March 2014. Both brother and sister were flown to Russia. There they summit 6,190 meters height of Mount McKinley on 3 July 2014. After that, Ali Mirza went to summit the highest peak in Europe, Mount Elbrus. They proudly waved the Pakistan flag at the top of 5,642 meters high peak of Mount Elbrus on 24 July 2014. With this, Samina completed the adventure of Seven Summits in 2014, including the expedition of Mount Everest in 2013.
President of Pakistan awarded Samina Baig with Pride of Performance in 2015. A documentary film, Beyond the Heights, was also released in 2015 in honor of mountaineer Samina Baig. His brother, Mirza Ali, was the producer and writer of the documentary while Jawad Sharif directed it.