Lady Commonwealth (Commonwealth Union) _ Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala is renowned as the first Sri Lankan to summit Mt. Everest with her journey in 2016. However, despite the mark she left on history as a conqueror of the tallest mountain on Earth, Kuru-Utumpala’s drive was not just about the glory of conquering a mountain but about defying boundaries and giving women a voice in a society that is still caught in the struggles of gender equality.
Kuru-Utumpala is not just a celebrated mountaineer but is also one of Sri Lanka’s most respected advocates for gender and has more than 20 years of experience in women’s rights.
With a postgraduate diploma in Women’s Studies from the University of Colombo and an MA in Gender Studies from the University of Sussex, Kuru-Utumpala has, for a considerable amount of time, worked on issues regarding gender, sexuality, and human rights and has held major roles as a gender advisor and researcher at national, regional, and international levels.
Following her Everest summit, Kuru-Utumpala served in the Sri Lankan Ministry of Women’s Affairs as a Goodwill Ambassador for Women’s Rights, during which she used her platform to challenge gender stereotypes and to advocate for systemic changes within areas ranging from sports to education to sexual violence.
Over the years, she has also spoken widely on gender dynamics, including one of her most notable pieces, “After Everest: Can Mountaineering Tackle Gender Myths in Sri Lanka?” where she masterfully portrayed her mountain expedition as a metaphor for challenging patriarchal gender norms.
Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala’s mountaineering journey, which began in 2000, reached its peak in 2016 with her historic Mt. Everest summit alongside Johan Peries, her longtime climbing partner. They reached an altitude of 8,400 meters before Peries was forced to turn back due to equipment failure. Their campaign cost around $60,000 per person and was supported by International Mountain Guides and Sherpas Ang Karma and Ang Pasang.
After her Everest victory, Kuru-Utumpala has since made a number of other significant summits, including Mount Kilimanjaro, Island Peak, and Sri Lanka’s Adam’s Peak. She has also completed several rock-climbing ventures across various countries, such as Spain, Germany, Argentina, and South Africa.
Aside from her mountaineering achievements, Kuru-Utumpala has also been fighting against online gender-based violence through Delete Nothing, an online platform she co-created, dedicated towards addressing and documenting tech-related abuse in Sri Lanka, and provides support to victims.
She also serves at the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka as a gender and human rights advisor. Her work there is focused towards reducing stigma and discrimination directed against those who access HIV services.
Kuru-Utumpala has garnered significant recognition over the years, including a listing among the BBC’s Top 100 Women in 2017. She was recognized by the Sri Lankan Parliament in 2019 on Women’s Day and received national honors from the then president Mithripala Sirisena later that same year.
More recently, Kuru-Utumpala also received recognition for her contributions toward gender equality in sports, as she was awarded the International Olympic Committee’s Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Champions Award for Asia in 2023.
She is the current chair of the Women and Media Collective and the International Centre for Ethnic Studies. Kuru-Utumpala also serves as a trustee of a UK-based charity, the Women of the World Foundation.
