Pauline Latham OBE MP met with two inspiring young women who, at just 23 years old have sailed into the Guinness World Record books as the youngest people and the first ever twins to complete the Explorers Grand Slam.
Tashi and Nungshi Malik from Northern India were awarded the Tenzig Norgay National Adventure Award, India’s highest adventure award after they successfully climbed the world’s 7 highest peaks and skied to both the North and South Poles.
Mrs. Latham said that “Tashi and Nungshi are excellent roles models and I felt incredibly inspired and excited when I met them. Their achievements should show young girls everywhere that adventure isn’t just something for boys.
Historically, some of our most notable adventurers have been women, including the world famous Amelia Earhart who was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In a recent Sunday Times interview, Bear Grylls suggested that there should be more boys knitting and more girls climbing mountains. Tashi and Nungshi are both fantastic examples of that sentiment and they help us remember that we have to keep challenging people’s ideas about what girls can and can’t do”.
Tashi and Nungshi have attempted to use their climbing as a metaphor for the invisible mountains of gender discrimination, exclusion and the denial of basic human rights that millions of girls in India have to climb daily.