UP girl clears NDA, to be India's first Muslim female fighter pilot

Daughter of a TV mechanic from Mirzapur, Sania Mirza considers country's first female fighter pilot Avni Chaturvedi as her role model

Sania Mirza, a citizen of Uttar Pradesh’s Jasovar village, has brought laurels to her hometown and the country by qualifying as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. Not only is Sania the first IAF pilot in all of Uttar Pradesh but she will also become India's first Muslim woman fighter pilot, as per a report in NDTV.

"I hope younger generation will someday get inspired by me," says Sania Mirza, the daughter of a TV mechanic from Mirzapur.

Sania idolises the country's first female fighter pilot Avni Chaturvedi as her role model.

"Our daughter has made us and the entire village proud. She inspired every girl in the village to follow their dreams," shared Tabassum Mirza, Sania’s mother as her daughter is set to join Pune’s NDA Khadakwasla on December 27.

Sania completed her education at a Hindi Medium institution and is of the belief that those who study from Hindi medium can also achieve great things in life. She passed class 10 from Pandit Chintamani Dubey Inter College in her village after which she moved to Guru Nanak Girls Inter College in the city, where she topped class 12. Later on, she went to Centurion Defense Academy to begin her training professionally.

There are 400 seats in total in the National Defense Academy 2022 Examination, of which 19 are for women and 2 are reserved for female fighter pilots.