First Saudi Arabian woman 'breaks taboo' by conquering Mount Everest

A Saudi Arabian woman has broken taboos and made history by becoming the first woman from the ultra-orthodox country to climb and conquer Mount Everest on May 18 this year.

According to CNN, the triumph of 27-year-old graphic designer Raha Moharrak, who is also the youngest Saudi national to reach the top of Everest, was part of an expedition known as 'Arabs With Altitude', which has been documented for an upcoming series airing on Qatar Television.

Wanting to test her limits which meant challenging her culture, Moharrak recalled that getting her father, who still maintained conservative views, to agree was the first hurdle, although she said that he and the rest of her family supported her every step of the way since then.

The report further said that Moharrak began climbing in November 2011 and in the space of a year, conquered eight mountains including Mount Kilimanjaro, and Moharrak said that when she got to the top of Everest, she did not celebrate as much as she would have liked given that 75% of people die on the way down.

However, Moharrak admitted that even though she had trained hard for the expedition, she promised herself that if she were at risk of losing fingers and toes to frostbite, she would abandon her attempt.

According to the report, Moharrak's triumph on Everest is the latest in a growing number of milestones for women in Saudi Arabia, with US-based Sarah Attar becoming the first Saudi woman to compete in an Olympics at the London Games last year.

Saudi Arabia only officially allowed sport to be played in private girls' schools in May, the report added.