All-women mountaineering teams from India's Border Security Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police successfully summited Mount Everest on May 21, 2024 [2].
These achievements mark the first time either force has fielded an all-women team to reach the world's highest peak. The dual success serves as a high-profile demonstration of women's empowerment within India's paramilitary structures, a concept known as Nari Shakti [1, 3].
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police expedition reached the summit using the South Col Route on the Nepal side of the mountain [1, 2]. A total of 11 climbers from the ITBP expedition successfully reached the peak [1].
For the Border Security Force, the expedition was organized to celebrate the organization's Diamond Jubilee [1, 3]. While some reports suggest the teams reached the peak on the same day, others indicate the ITBP team arrived days after the BSF team [1, 2]. Both reached the summit in May 2024 [2].
The expeditions were designed to showcase the capabilities of female personnel in extreme environments. The missions required rigorous training and coordination to navigate the technical challenges of the South Col Route, one of the most common but demanding paths to the summit [1, 2].
“Both forces successfully summited Mount Everest, marking the first all‑women teams for each.”
The successful summits by the BSF and ITBP represent a strategic shift in the visibility of women within India's security forces. By achieving these milestones, the organizations are transitioning from traditional roles toward high-endurance, specialized operations, signaling a broader institutional push for gender integration in elite paramilitary activities.
