Women in the Sky Pulled Down in Pakistan's Air Force

As a young child, Ayesha Farooq never envisioned herself working in an office, but her eyes remained glued to the TV for hours on end watching airplanes taking off during the annual parade of Sepetember 6th held in Islamabad, Pakistan. As the forces paid homage to the valor of the martyrs of the war, Farooq looked up at the fighter planes in the sky that defended the country in its darkest times and saw herself in one of those cockpits. Farooq admired those fighter pilots and in that moment she decided the sky is where she belongs. Joining Air Force may have obstacles but she loves to tell that tale because today she is known and celebrated as Pakistan’s first female fighter pilot. 

Pakistan ranks as the second worst country in gender equality and the country has seen feminist movements such as Aurat March demanding women to be in more leadership positions. According to the World Economic Forum “Pakistan is the country where women have the smallest share of senior, managerial and legislative roles (approximately only 4.5%).” 

However, in the past few years, stories of women like Flight Lt. Farooq and General Nigar Johar have started to surface, showing that more women are occupying roles that are traditionally known to be male-dominated. 

Since its inception, Pakistan’s Air Force has recruited women to be involved in non-combat departments, such as engineering, research, and medical. They remained barred from becoming pilots until Retd. Air Chief Mushaf Ali Mir saw fit to bring a change. Even then, it took three more years to recruit a first batch of women fighter pilots.   

Becoming fighter pilots was a landmark achievement because not only were did they earn their place in the sky, but they became eligible to reach the top position - Air Chief. 

“Only fighter pilots can become chief,” said Retd. Air Chief Marshall Sohail Aman who started off as a fighter pilot in 1978 and led the Air Force as Air Chief from 2015 to 2018. 

While women may have become eligible to lead Air Force as Chiefs, it has been 20 years and not a single woman has been promoted as Air Chief.

“You have to understand the history. Because inductions happened so late for women, they haven’t had the time to reach the rank of an Air Chief,” he said. 

Having joined the Air Force in 1980 and serving for 35 years till he rose to the rank of an Air Chief, Aman believes it will take another 15 years for women to reach the top ranks in Air Force  but, assures that gender is not a barrier. “Pakistan has been part of the globalization and women taking part of the society is something that is absolutely normal now,” he said. 

Farooq recalls her batch to be of 30 males out of which only four were women and due to medical reasons, some women dropped out, and she was the only one that qualified into fighter flying.

 “The emphasis on the importance of women being physically healthy and staying active in society is so very little, compared to that given in the military,” she said. “Academy life was challenging and only those that remain steadfast can survive.” 

Pakistan Air Force champions the idea of women empowerment as Aman witnessed womn outperforming the men in some departments such as logistics, accounts, and engineering. “Women outperform the men sometimes in research. Girls have been shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts,” said Aman.  

According to Farooq, men and women are treated equally. “I used to be the only female in a room full of male cadets, but nobody singled me out for being a woman.” 

Shayaan Aamir, only 20 years old, is training to be a fighter pilot in the Air Force Academy, and for him, it is a different place for women that most people would expect it to be.

“Being in a country like Pakistan, the discrimination between men and women in Air Force is not as much or even at all. Our trainings are done in the same manner,” he said. “Just separately.”

Men and women having segregated trainings is certainly not a reason why women haven’t taken leadership roles but it does speak to the gender discrimination rooted in Pakistan’s society. 

19-year-old Eesha Asad has always wanted to fly the F17 fighter plane but struggled to keep up with society’s image of what a woman should be like after facing criticism on her weight. After being discouraged from applying, Asad knew the reality of a woman’s place in society. 

“There is, rather, this expectation that a woman is supposed to look after the house, get married, and make a family,” said Asad. 

Behind the success of any woman are the shackles of gender roles and expectations that were broken. When Farooq’s father passed away when she was only 3, her mother took on the responsiblity to raise Farooq and her sister. 

“They did have reservations [of joining the military] because it involved going out of the house, working long hours, and training in the academy,” Farooq said. “These are our social norms that a woman is supposed to stay home and take care of the kids.”   

The ladder for men and women to climb and reach the top is built different. For women, their domestic responsibilities carries a heavy burden. According to psychologist Air Commodore Javed Akhtar who used to give career counseling to Air Force Officers remarked that the difficulties of being a female fighter pilot requires tremednous effort and a lot of sacrifice. 

“The discrimination of women exists whether we acknowledge it or not. It becomes very difficult for a woman to continue fighter flying and also take care of their domestic life,” said Akhtar. 

Wing Commander Marya, who has asked for her identity be protected, was recruited as as a civilian officer in Special Services Commissions in 2013 but soon found herself to have to leave the Air Force. 

“I had fallen in love with the military life because it was more disciplined and I had always felt more respected,” said Sohail. 

Although the hint of adding a slight extra effort in women’s work may be there for the same reason it took till 2005 for female fighter pilots to be recruited - women’s voices get heard late. 

“Yes, perhaps we do have to do some extra preparation. If I were a male officer, maybe I wouldn’t be that conscious. Many times you have to really prove that whatever the male officers are thinking isn’t necessarily incorrect but there could be other perspectives added to it,” Marya recalled the times she presented in a board room full of men. 

Serving in the Air Force for Marya did not last as long as she had hoped because her priorities changed. “I say I am a feminist and I am very strong but I leave Air Force very heavy heartedly,” she said. 

Marya doesn’t put a blindfold on her eyes and said, “It is not that women are forced to sacrifice but I would say we have a different make-up.” According to her, it is quite easy for male officers to leave their family for a couple of months perhaps but for female officers, it is not as easy. 

“We have some certain limitations - our children and family. It could be done in two ways - do you want to have some relaxation and if you do, does it mean that your work wont suffer? It will.” 

This late start of women as fighter pilots in the Air Force may just be the tip of the iceberg that prevents them to fly to the highest of heights and Aman is realistic. 

“There is no gender bar in their way. They should get there [as Chiefs] in a few years, provided they survive it [fighter flying],” said Aman. 

The social pressure of a woman’s responsibility is strong enough for some women to give into these ideals and call it a sacrifice as Akhtar pointed out earlier. 

Squardan Leader Nimra, changed her department from flying due to physical limitations and a marital pressure. 

“After getting married, being in new and compromising relation at times,one cannot cope up with both profession and family life together,” said Nimra who preferred to remain anonymous with a pseudo name. 

Even if they are not changing their departments, the ladder seems to be getting longer for women. Psychologist and career counselor Akhtar notes that the characteristics of an Air Chief may not match as well with a woman. 

“Determined. Responsible. Sociable and is able to take initiatives,” Akhtar describes the characteristics of an Air Chief. “A woman may be hard working, courageous, but controlling people, men, and a whole base in my opinion is not possible,” he said. 

According to the young cadet in training Aamir, the conversations he has with his seniors lead him to believe that lady officers in fighter flying get grounded - suspended from flying - quite earlier than any man does. “Once she gets married and gets pregnant, she is considered to be unfit,” he said. “Air Force does not wait for anyone, as it can’t” 

Women that fly in the sky may always find a higher power that bring them down and it may look like reasons such as - a late start, change of department, society’s expectations, and gender characteristics. 

However, women like Farooq either seem to look like an exception to these factors or a a symbol of hope that women can get it all. Married to a fellow Air Force officer and a mother to three children, she does not plan on changing her department anytime and is hoping for a promotion in the near future. 

“A support system is everything. My family supported my choice to become a fighter pilots and continues to do so.”