WASHINGTON – The US administration has granted asylum to Afghanistan’s first female pilot, Niloofar Rahmani, who has become a symbol of women advancement during war against Taliban in country, Wall Street Journal reported.
Rahmani, 27, who is the former captain of the fledgling Afghan Air Force, moved to the US in 2015 for training after succumbing to life threats receiving by her and her loved ones. Later, she applied for asylum in 2016.
Rahmani was sent on training by the US military where she was paid for it. Keeping in view the threats to her life, the US authorities now has decided to give her asylum.
“I’m really happy and thankful to all the people who made this [being granted asylum] happen,” she told the media outlet, adding, “All I want now is to go back to my dream of flying.”
She was only 18 years old when she heard an announcement in the media about the recruitment of young women into the Afghan Air Force, including the opportunity for pilot training.
She enlisted in the Afghan Air Force Officer Training Program in 2010 and in July 2012 graduated as a Second Lieutenant.
Rahmani completed her first solo flight in September 2012 in a Cessna 182, an American four-seat, single-engine light airplane.
As the first female aeroplane pilot in Afghanistan, Niloofar Rahmani became a powerful symbol of what women could accomplish in the post-Taliban era. But in the ultraconservative country, the limelight also brought threats, sending her into hiding from insurgents and vengeful relatives.
Mohammad Radmanish, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defence said: “As an individual, she has the right to live where she wants.” He declined to comment further.
The pilot’s family remains in Afghanistan, except for a sister who moved to the US recently because she married an Afghan living in America.
In Afghanistan, her close family members are fearful for their lives and continue to live in hiding.
Source: WSJ
