Pakistani Women Take to the Skies

Courtesy ISPR

Country’s first female paratroopers complete training in landmark achievement.

Pakistan’s first group of female paratroopers completed their training on Sunday, the military announced, hailing it as a “landmark achievement.”

Capt. Kiran Ashraf was declared the best paratrooper of the batch of 24, the military said in a statement, while Capt. Sadia became the first woman officer to jump from a MI-17 helicopter.

According to the United Nations, only 40 percent of adult women in Pakistan are literate, and there are numerous cases of violence and abuse—many of which go unreported. But in 2006 seven women broke into one of Pakistan’s most exclusive male clubs to graduate as fighter pilots—perhaps the most prestigious job in the powerful military and for six decades closed to the fairer sex.

After three weeks’ basic airborne training, which included exit, flight, and landing techniques, the new paratroopers completed their first jump on Sunday and were given their “wings” by the commander of Special Services Group, Maj. Gen. Abid Rafique, the military said.