Niloofar Rahmani

Niloofar Rahmani (Persian: نیلوفر رحمانی, born early 1990s[1][2][3]) is the first female fixed-wing Air Force aviator in Afghanistan's history and the first female pilot in the Afghan Air Force since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.[4] Though her family received death threats, she persevered to complete her training and won the U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award in 2015.[5]

Niloofar Rahmani
Rahmani in 2013
Born1992 (age 30–31)
Logar, Afghanistan
Allegiance Afghanistan
Service/branchAir Force
Years of service2012–2018

Early life
2nd Lt. Niloofar Rahmani stands alongside the other four graduates of undergraduate pilot training just prior to receiving their pilot wings at a ceremony on 14 May 2013 at Shindand Air Base, Afghanistan.

Rahmani was born in Afghanistan in 1992 in a Persian-speaking family. She lived with her family in Pakistan before returning to Kabul in 2001.[2] Since she was a child, she had a dream of becoming a pilot and spent nearly a year studying English to be able to attend flight school.[6] She is of Tajik descent.[7]

Flight career
2nd Lt. Niloofar Rahmani in 2013

She enlisted in the Afghan Air Force Officer Training Program in 2010 and in July 2012 graduated as a Second Lieutenant.[5] Throughout the program, Afghan air force doctors attempted to deem her physically unfit to fly; she was the only female candidate in the program.[2] Two female helicopter pilots during the Soviet era, the Nabizada sisters, along with her father, served as inspiration for Rahmani's achievement.[8][9]

Her first solo flight was in a Cessna 182. Wanting to fly larger aircraft, she went to advanced flight school and was soon flying the C-208 military cargo aircraft.[10] Women are traditionally banned from transporting dead or wounded soldiers; however, Rahmani defied orders when she discovered injured soldiers upon landing in one mission. Flying them to a hospital, she reported her actions to her superiors, who imposed no sanctions.[11]

When her achievements were publicized, Captain Rahmani's family received threats from both family members and the Taliban, which disapproved of her ambition and career choices. The family has had to move several times[5] but Rahmani was resolute and aimed to fly a larger C-130 plane and become a flight instructor to inspire other women.[9] She began training on C-130s with the US Air Force in 2015 and completed the program in December 2016, following which she applied for asylum in the United States.[12] Rahmani hoped to eventually become a military pilot for the United States Air Force.[13][14]

Asylum

Rahmani, who was represented by International Attorney Kimberley Motley, was granted asylum in the United States in April 2018.[15] She lives in Florida with a sister, who is attempting to gain asylum as well. She works as a translator in Persian, Dari and English languages.[2]

In 2021 she published with Open Skies: My Life as Afghanistan's First Female Pilot her autobiography.[16]

See also

References
  1. Open Skies: My Life as Afghanistan’s First Female Pilot. Publishers Weekly Newsletter, Juli 2021
  2. Rajagopalan, Megha (December 14, 2019). "The "Badass" Afghan Pilot Who Went Massively Viral Is Now Living In Exile. She Just Wants To Be Able To Fly Again". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  3. Niloofar Rahmani. In: Thomas H. Johnson, Ludwig W. Adamec: Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan. Rowman & Littlefield, 2021, ISBN 9781538149294, pp. 416-417
  4. "The Conversation: Pilots Niloofar Rahmani and Esther Mbabazi". BBC News. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  5. "Biographies of 2015 Award Winners". U.S. State Department. March 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-03-07. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  6. Jawad, Sayed (16 May 2013). "First Female Afghan Air Force pilot graduated in 30 years". Khaama Press. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  7. Rahmani, Niloofar (July 26, 2021). Open Skies: My Life as Afghanistan's First Female Pilot. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 9781641603379.
  8. "MilitaryFirst Afghan female pilot aims to soar". newscentral. 10 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  9. Kovach, Gretel C. (March 10, 2015). "Pilot Breaks Gender Barrier". U-T SanDiego. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  10. Lebron, Jennifer (13 March 2015). "First Afghan Woman Pilot Flies with Blue Angels". US Navy. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  11. Naso, Bridget (Mar 9, 2015). "Groundbreaking Female Afghan Pilot Inspires in San Diego". NBC San Diego. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  12. Stancati, Margherita (December 24, 2016). "First Female Pilot in Afghanistan Requests Asylum in U.S." The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 24, 2016. Now, more than three years after she earned her wings, the 25-year-old Afghan air force pilot hopes to start a new life in the U.S. where she has applied for asylum, saying her life would be in danger if she returns home.
  13. Ernesto Londoño (23 December 2016). "A Female Afghan Pilot Soars and Gives Up". New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  14. Andrew Watkins (29 December 2016). "Duty or Desertion in Afghanistan". Boston Globe. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  15. March, Stephanie (1 May 2018). "Former Afghan Air Force pilot Niloofar Rahmani granted asylum in the United States". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  16. Barbara Spindel: Afghanistan’s first female pilot paid a steep price for the freedom to fly. Christian Science Monitor, 19 August 2021
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