Oman Woman of the Year 2020

Nadhira al Harthy, an ambitious youth with an overwhelming adventurous spirit, is the first Omani woman to scale Mt Everest, the tallest peak in the world in the Himalayas, on May 23, 2019. The day became a red letter day in the history of Oman wherein women achievements reached an outstanding zenith, thanks to her determination and drive.

Nadhira had started out in early April 2019, along with three other Arab women, and their entire journey was filmed and documented by Canadian adventurer and filmmaker Elia Saikaly who had scaled Everest in the recent past. She was inspired to take up this challenge by Late Khalid al Siyabi, the first Omani to climb Mount Everest in 2010, and underwent rigorous training for over two years before venturing out for her mission.

Being an ultra athlete herself, who has undertaken the 42km Muscat Marathon twice, as well as then 90km Oman UTMB race, she was equipped with what it takes for a challenging expedition to Mt Everest. When she had set out to climb Mt Everest, being the first or second woman from Oman to do so did not matter at all to her. What mattered was accomplishing the task at hand against all odds.

“It’s good to have a dream and set a difficult goal before oneself. One needs to build up strength and passion to take on challenges and be successful. It helps in adding some adventure to one’s routine lifestyle, besides improving one’s personality and moving onto another level in life,” Nadhira asserts.