Finally the time has come when childhood dreams will not be gender biased. Little girls can also freely aspire themselves to become strong fighter pilots when they grow up. As their perfect heroic idols, Avani Chaturvedi, Mohana Singh and Bhawana Kanth are currently making their mark in news on every channel and newspaper because they are going to be the first-ever Indian women fighter pilots. It will become a factual reality on 18th of June this year after the trio completes Stage-III of their training on the Hawks. Not only is this a much needed step towards empowering women, but the way these pretty air fighters busted the pride bubble of men is something which should happen quite often.
The statements of these stereotype breakers, which are roaming all across the web, are as follows:
“It’s a very adventurous life. Any air force is defined by its fighters…we all are thrilled. It’s no different being a woman fighter pilot. The challenges are exactly the same for both sexes.” said Avani Chaturvedi (Madhya Pradesh) in an interview. Being from an army background with her brother in the same field, her excitement and confidence to join the legacy is clearly felt in these statements of hers.
“It is not the right time for it now. It has always been the right time for women to become fighter pilots. I am only grateful that it at least happened now. My parents never made me feel I needed to think any different just because I am a girl,” said Bhawana Kanth (Bihar) to highlight the fact that women were never behind and that excellent support from the parents produces such brilliant combats.
“It’s a childhood dream come true to be selected for the fighter stream… I am continuing the legacy of my grandfather (who was also in the IAF) and father (a warrant officer now posted at Vadodara). We were three girls out of thirty seven girls in our batch who got short listed for this once the opportunity arose. We grabbed it with both hands” Mohana Singh (Rajasthan) told TOI on Tuesday. It seems that Ms Singh always had in her; a good opportunity was what she was waiting for.
It takes a total of Rs 15 Crore to train a fighter pilot and this trio of women proved themselves worthy of such an investment. Announcement of their achievement was made by IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Well this news did make this particular day for women even more special, don’t you think? Just imagine these girls flying old fighters like MiG-21s, Sukhoi-30MKIs and Mirage-2000s and living their dreams to rule the skies. These fighter pilots deserve salutes from us and we should thank them for being the flag bearers for other aspiring female fighter pilots.
