IAF women fighter pilots Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh
At a time when aviation was looked upon as a strictly male dominated domain, Indian ladies clad in sarees showed the world what they are capable of! These women fought sexism, gender bias, defied societal norms and soared into the sky!
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 15% of India’s pilots are women, which is three times the global average of 5%. With such a high percentage of females soaring the skies, our nation proudly boasts of being a global leader in challenging gender bias in the aviation industry.
India has the greatest proportion of female pilots in the world, compared to 5.5% in the US, which is the largest aviation market in the world, and 4.7% in the UK, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots.
On Armed Forces Flag Day 2024, here is a look into some of India’s first female pilots who have made us proud.
Sarla Thakral – India’s first woman to fly an aircraft
Sarla Thakral (also spelled Sarla Thukral) made history by achieving her aviation pilot license in the year 1936 when she was just 21. And guess what, the first woman to fly an aircraft in India flew solo in a Gypsy Moth aircraft wearing a saree! Thakral was born in Delhi in 1914 and passed away in 2008 at the age of 93.
With over 1,000 hours of flying experience, Thakral not only shattered stereotypes but also showed the path for countless women to pursue aviation as a career. Her inspiring journey stands a symbol of courage, determination, and breaking barriers.
Durba Banerjee – first woman commercial pilot in India
At a time when women were not allowed to even step out of their homes as per their own wish, there was a woman dreaming of touching the skies! Captain Durba Banerjee, a first-generation female pilot from her family, started her aviation career flying a Dakota with Air Survey of India as a DC3 pilot in the year 1959.
Fascinated by aircrafts and dreaming of flying them since childhood, Durba never gave up on her passion. After being associated with the Air Survey of India, Captain Durba Banerjee moved to Indian Airlines in the year 1956 at Calcutta to become India’s first woman commercial pilot. With over 9000 flying hours to her credit, Banerjee also became a commander in the E27 turboprop Dutch aircraft and flew the Tornado A-200, Airbus 300 and Boeing 737.
Nivedita Bhasin boasts of being the youngest commercial airline captain in the world, a feat she achieved in the year 1989. Bhasin, the youngest woman pilot in the history of civil aviation, commanded a commercial jet aircraft at the age of 26. Bhasin flew a Boeing 737 and became the youngest woman to captain a jet aircraft. Seven years later, she advanced to commanding an Airbus 300.
In 2011, she took part in a risky mission to rescue Indian citizens stranded in Libya during its civil war. Having flown for more than 22,000 hours, she was part of the co-pilot team in the world’s inaugural all-female crew flight in 1985. She has also made history by being the first woman pilot to become Air India’s chief safety officer.
Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh, first and only woman Rafale fighter pilot
Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh is India’s first and only female pilot to fly the Rafale fighter aircraft. She was part of the Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent which took part in the Orion war exercise in France. She is the Rafale squadron’s first woman fighter pilot and is part of the Golden Arrows Squadron of the Air Force based in Ambala, Punjab.
Born in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, Shivangi joined the Indian Air Force in 2017 and was appointed into the IAF’s second batch of women fighter pilots. Shivangi became the first woman fighter pilot to fly a Rafale in 2020. Apart from Rafale, Shivangi has also flown the MiG-21 Bison aircraft.
Squadron Leader Mohana Singh – India’s first female fighter pilot to fly LCA Tejas
IAF women fighter pilots Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh
Squadron Leader Mohana Singh scripted history in September this year as she became the first female fighter pilot in India to fly the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. The 32-year-old has joined the elite 18 ‘Flying Bullets’ squadron, which operates the LCA Tejas. Singh recently took part in the historic ‘Tarang Shakti’ exercise in Jodhpur, where she was crucial in instructing the vice chiefs of the Indian Army and Navy during a historic flight. She was the first woman fighter pilot to be inducted into a fighter squadron about eight years ago.
In 2016, Mohana, alongside Avani Chaturvedi and Bhawana Kanth, became one of the first women to be inducted into the Indian Air Force’s fighter pilot program. Following this, the IAF took a historic decision to open its fighter stream to women, thereby breaking gender barriers in the military. Mohana’s first major career breakthrough came in 2019 when she became the first female fighter pilot in the IAF to attain full operational status on the Hawk Mk.132 advanced jet trainer.
Born in 1992 in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu, Mohana Singh belongs to a family which boasts of a history in military service. Her father, Pratap Singh Jitarwal, is a retired IAF Master Warrant Officer, and her grandfather was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra.
