Samina: aiming for more summits

Samina Baig is a 23-year-old Pakistani woman who created history earlier this year by becoming the first Pakistani women to climb the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest.  Samina will soon be embarking on an extraordinary journey in which she, along with her brother, Mirza Ali Baig will climb the seven highest peaks across all seven continents. Beenish Javed met Samina in Islamabad.

Women rappers in Nepal are causing a stir. These young women use a mix of English and Nepalese to woo their fans. Women in Bangladesh have been severely affected by the latest spate of strikes . Read more to know the latest in women’s news.

Her new husband was out of a job. Luckily, she wasn’t. She was mighty pleased with herself to be capable of supporting her very fresh marriage in such times of crisis. After all, it was her first opportunity to prove her utility beyond the household. Although the task of managing her home together with work was exhausting, she was optimistic.

A friend asked me the other day, “Why are you such an intimidating feminist?” I replied, “Have you ever been slapped and abused only because you were not a son?” My friend was silent, almost sympathetic. I wasn’t. “Have you been raped and couldn’t do anything about it because that man was your husband?”

Pakistani teenager Malala is honoured with the Sakharov prize. In a speech to Indian students, US ambassador to India, Nancy Powell reveals why American students don’t want to come to India. 13-year-old Sushma Verma is from a very poor family, but she’s managed to get into university by doing exceedingly well in her studies! Read more to find out the latest in women’s news from around the world.

While the world is giving Malala Yousafzai outstanding accolades, Pakistan is on the brink of a wild frenzy on coming up with conspiracy theories. There is a limited group of people who hail her as a hero, but most have labelled her a traitor.

“It’s been more than a year since my trauma. I still get nightmares and I find myself unable to trust any man. I am scared of getting married or having kids. My biggest fear is that the same thing might happen to someone I love, that someone I love might get raped.”