On International Women’s Day, Chief of the Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Arup Raha announced that India’s first batch of women fighter pilots will be inducted this year on June 18.
“I must thank the Defence Minister for having approved the IAF’s proposal to induct women as fighter pilots and very soon on June 18 this year, Indian Air Force will get its first woman fighter pilot,” Mr. Raha said addressing a seminar on the role of women in the Army’s Medical Corps.
The three women trainees have volunteered to join the fighter stream. “They are under the second phase of their training. Once they complete their training and are on par with their male colleagues and the passing out parade is scheduled on June 18,” ACM Raha added.
The first batch has three women - Bhawna Kanth, Avni Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh who will create history as India’s first women fighter pilots.
Source: NDTV
Speaking to Indian news channel, NDTV, the women said that their feat was a labour of love.
For Bhawana Kanth, it was a childhood dream to be a fighter pilot, something only expected from boys according to the stereotypes. "But my parents never made me feel I needed to think any different just because I am a girl," says Ms Kanth.
Mohana Singh comes from an air force family. Her father and grandfather both served in the Indian Air Force. She says that joining the Air Force was a family tradition and dream. "After B.Tech like the army of youngsters who look for jobs in IT, I too joined Cognizant but was simultaneously preparing to join the services too," Ms Singh said.
She credits her instructor for inspiring her to become a fighter pilot. "We were three girls out of eight girls in our batch who got short listed for this once the opportunity arose. We grabbed it with both hands," she said.
Avani Chaturvedi from Rewa in Madhya Pradesh says it's no different being a woman fighter pilot. The challenges are exactly the same for both sexes. "We have to compete like anyone else and we are not looking to be treated differently either," she explains.
Women currently comprise merely 2.5% of the armed forces in India, working mostly in non-combat roles. Neighbouring country Pakistan has about 20 female fighter pilots. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) began inducting women into combat roles in 2006.
