These Iranian women raise Iran's flag on top of world's highest mountains
Independent aggregator of Iran-related news/Events, Kodoom.com: Last week, Parvaneh Kazemi became the first woman to raise Iran's flag on top of Dhaulagiri, world's seventh-highest mountain by elevation (8,167 m).
Born 1970 in Tehran, Kazemi is a Mathematics teacher by day and a mountain guide on weekends. In 2012 she became the first Iranian woman who individually (self-financed) climbed Mount Everest, world's highest mountain peak (news link). She has also reached the summit of Makalu (8463m), the 5th highest in the world, in Spring of 2016. On her website, she also lists as her accomplishment "The first woman in the world to climb Mt. Everest and Lhotse in a single season and single week."
As an independent climber not associated with Iran's Islamic government, Kazemi still keeps her head cover or hat in pictures to follow "Hijab" rules, but she also contacts and hang out with male climbers and guides during her climbs, despite Iran's strict Islamic rules.
Separately, Mona Seraji has been ascending new heights as the first Middle Eastern professional snowboarder and contestant in the Freeride World Qualifiers (FWQ). Recently Monsa was back in the Alps for another round of FWQ. She says: "Because I’m the only rider from Iran that competed, I ended up representing my country. Snowboarding is very popular in Iran, even though the freestyle level is pretty scarce compared to Europe and the US."
Monsa says: " I’m in the mountains all year, regardless of the season – biking, rock climbing, snowboarding, and splitboarding. With mountain elevations of 4,000 meters and above in Tehran, I get the chance to train more than six months of the year on snow. All of this helped me prepare for the upcoming FWQ... Once there, the FWQ comp environment is filled with excitement, joy, and friendship. Everyone talks about their lines and we all hopped from mountain to mountain for each event. When you all share the same passion, it doesn't really matter where you're from. It’s like being from the same tribe – the Freeride community, a family of freedom!"
"For the first and second competition, I came in third. People were surprised to see an Iranian woman on the podium, and many riders want to know my story and how I ended up here. I'm happy to tell them about massive home mountains and fellow Iranian riders."
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