Wasfia Nazreen

Who is Wasfia Nazreen?

Wasfia Nazreen is the first person from Bangladesh to have taken up the mission of the Seven Summits. She is the second Bangladeshi woman to climb Mount Everest, which she did on 26 May 2012, only 6 days after another Bangladeshi man-woman team made it to the summit. She is the youngest Everest conqueror from Bangladesh, at the age of 29. Wasfia is also the first and only Bangladeshi to have conquered Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of the Himalayan range, on 16 December 2011 marking Bangladesh's 40th Victory day. She is the first Bangladeshi to stand atop Mount Elbrus, Europe’s highest mountain. She is also the first Bangladeshi woman to stand atop Mount Vinson, highest mountain of Antarctica, on 4 January 2013.

A social worker by profession, her writings have drawn much attention to the plight of sex-workers, indigenous peoples and other minority groups. She has been published by NEWSWEEK, Wildlife Trust of India, New York Review of Books, Songlines, Independent World Report, Scotsman, India seminar, amongst others. In 2012, she was selected to work as the Goodwill Ambassador for BRAC, world’s largest non-profit. In July 2011, she formed the Bangladesh on Seven Summits Foundation, which aims to empower girls in Bangladesh to choose alternate lifestyles. She is also the youth ambassador for JAAGO, and it’s concern Volunteer for Bangladesh, the largest network of Bangladeshi youth working for social change.