How High Can Pakistan’s Air Force Women Fly?

[Azad-Kashmiri]

there are two reasons i think women should not be a fighter roles, firstly the great strain that g forces brings to the body, can the female body sustain it? and secondly return on investment, is it the same as of male, because the money for paf is precious .

I think someone might say, there are female fighter pilots through out the World and can do the job. It's not as if PAF has a shortage of male pilots, this is more of a PR stunt for Christendom.

 

[Windjammer]

there are two reasons i think women should not be a fighter roles, firstly the great strain that g forces brings to the body, can the female body sustain it? and secondly return on investment, is it the same as of male, because the money for paf is precious .

Let's be realistic, how many fast jet pilots around the globe actually go into real combat during their career.
A pilot, male or female only becomes combat qualified once they pass all the tests physical and mental fitness and off course the aerial warfare environment.

 

[maxpayne]

Good to see our fellow sisters giving their best for country.

 

[truthseeker2010]

Let's be realistic, how many fast jet pilots around the globe actually go into real combat during their career.
A pilot, male or female only becomes combat qualified once they pass all the tests physical and mental fitness and off course the aerial warfare environment.

sir u think female pilots would be as lethal as man, the female fighter pilots have been around since world war 2 or beyond, i don't know but there have been just a single fighter ace, being qualified is one thing, but putting it to paces and pushing yourself, because as far as i know there is no second chance in air combat.

 

[sparten]

Condescending little article (as per usual for the NYT), since they cannot bear to write anything positive about Pakistan.

 

[shah1398]

It's again a personal view and even Islam do not ban women to take part in combat. But imagine difference between Male POW and Female POW .......n u know what I mean. Male POW dies once, female POW dies every night in hands of barbaric enemies...... this is where it get insane and imagine what type of shame nation might suffer.

Pakistan may never deploy its lady Officers into a battlefield where there are chances of POWs. As far as Ayesha is concerned she is flying F-7P which is Air Superiority fighter used for protection of country skies and i dnt think would ever be used across the border in case of any conflict.On the other hand i agree with U in toto.

 

[sonicboom]

Pakistan's first female fighter pilot is smashing stereotypes

June 11, 2015 · 5:15 PM

By Shirin Jaafari (follow) and Susannah Roberson (follow)

Ayesha Farooq, 26, Pakistan's only female war-ready fighter pilot, gives the thumb-up sign from the cockpit of a Chinese-made F-7PG fighter jet at Mushaf base in Sargodha, north Pakistan June 6, 2013.


"Ayesha and her sister [grew up] in an environment where it’s pretty hard to survive if you don’t have a male protector," says Bina Shah, author of several books including, most recently, "A Season for Martyrs."

Shah, who has written about Farooq, says her father was a physician and she grew up watching him take care of people.

“His absence in her life made her realize how important it was to have a protector of the family and she decided she was going to step into that role," she says. Farooq joined the air force academy to train as a fighter pilot.

According to Shah, Farooq's mother was completely supportive of her daughter's path. Her extended family, however, didn't approve.

"But Ayesha won them over with her determination," Shah explains. "Today, they ask her for advice on how their daughters can join the air force,” she says.

While it didn't start out that way, today her male colleagues treat her like one of them. For example, when reporters interested in her story inquire about their "female colleague," it surprises them.

"They ask 'lady? What lady?’" Shah says. "They don’t think of her as a lady, she’s just an officer, like [them]."

Shah says they know that they’re all there because of their ability.

“She passed all the tests, she scored very highly. She consistently topped her class,” Shah says.

Farooq’s is a success story, but Pakistan remains a complicated society when it comes to women's roles.

“We’ve had a woman head of state, at the same time, women are still being discriminated against in law and not protected as they should be by the legal system here,” Shah says.

But she is hopeful. She says more Pakistani women are taking on new and unconventional roles.

“What we’re seeing is huge change. ... What’s coming out is that all these issues about women are being highlighted when before they were never paid attention to. ... I’m really excited myself to be witnessing this in this day and age,” Shah says.

Pakistan's first female fighter pilot is smashing stereotypes | Public Radio International