Lebanese mountaineer speaks up for women, children from Everest summit
Joyce Azzam became the first Lebanese woman to complete the Seven Summits challenge by climbing Mount Everest, and now she's going back to clean it up and set an example for others.
BEIRUT — Joyce Azzam reached the top of Mount Everest May 23, making her the first Lebanese woman to complete the Seven Summit Challenge, braving frigid temperatures and killer oxygen levels to climb the tallest mountain on every continent. A week later, Azzam was back home in the blistering Beirut heat, a short walk from the beach and breathing easy.
“I come from Beirut's northern suburb Dekwaneh. I don’t come from a very well-known family and I am not rich,” Azzam told Al-Monitor, “Where I come from, the expectation for a girl is to get an education, then a job, some money, a family and have children. This is also what was expected from me.”
