Niloofar Rahmani (, born early 1990s
) is the first female fixed-wing Air Force aviator in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
's history and the first female pilot in the
Afghan Air Force
The General Command of the Air Force (, Dari: ) also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Air Force and the Afghan Air Force, is the air force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces.
The Royal Afghan Air Force was established in 1921 under the reign o ...
since the fall of the
Taliban
, leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders
, leader1_name = {{indented plainlist,
* Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013)
* Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016)
* Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
in 2001. Though her family received death threats, she persevered to complete her training and won the U.S. State Department's
International Women of Courage Award
The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...
in 2015.
Early life
Rahmani was born in Afghanistan in 1992 in a
Persian-speaking family. She lived with her family in
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
before returning to Kabul in 2001.
Since she was a child, she had a dream of becoming a pilot and spent nearly a year studying English to be able to attend flight school.
She is of
Tajik
Tajik, Tajikistan or Tajikistani may refer to. Someone or something related to Tajikistan:
Tajik
* Tajiks, an ethnic group in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan
* Tajik language, the official language of Tajikistan
* Tajik alphabet, Alphabet u ...
descent.
Flight career

She enlisted in the
Afghan Air Force
The General Command of the Air Force (, Dari: ) also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Air Force and the Afghan Air Force, is the air force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces.
The Royal Afghan Air Force was established in 1921 under the reign o ...
Officer Training Program in 2010 and in July 2012 graduated as a
Second Lieutenant.
Throughout the program, Afghan air force doctors attempted to deem her physically unfit to fly; she was the only female candidate in the program.
Two female helicopter pilots during the
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
era, the
Nabizada sisters, along with her father, served as inspiration for Rahmani's achievement.
Her first solo flight was in a
Cessna 182
The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engined light airplane built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats in the baggage area.
Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in a ...
. Wanting to fly larger aircraft, she went to advanced flight school and was soon flying the
C-208 military cargo aircraft.
Women are traditionally banned from transporting dead or wounded soldiers; however, Rahmani defied orders when she discovered injured soldiers upon landing in one mission. Flying them to a hospital, she reported her actions to her superiors, who imposed no sanctions.
When her achievements were publicized, Captain Rahmani's family received threats from both family members and the
Taliban
, leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders
, leader1_name = {{indented plainlist,
* Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013)
* Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016)
* Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
, which disapproved of her ambition and career choices. The family has had to move several times
but Rahmani was resolute and aimed to fly a larger
C-130
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
plane and become a flight instructor to inspire other women.
She began training on C-130s with the US Air Force in 2015 and completed the program in December 2016, following which she applied for asylum in the United States. Rahmani hoped to eventually become a military pilot for the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
.
Asylum
Rahmani, who was represented by International Attorney
Kimberley Motley
Kimberley Chongyon Motley is an American international human rights and civil rights lawyer. Motley was the first foreign attorney who litigated cases in Afghanistan. Early life and education
Motley's father was African-American and her mother ...
, was granted asylum in the United States in April 2018. She lives in Florida with a sister, who is attempting to gain asylum as well. She works as a translator in
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Dari
Dari (; endonym: ), Dari Persian (, , or , ), or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language;Lazard, G.Darī – The New Persian ...
and English languages.
In 2021 she published with ''Open Skies: My Life as Afghanistan's First Female Pilot'' her autobiography.
[Barbara Spindel]
''Afghanistan’s first female pilot paid a steep price for the freedom to fly''
Christian Science Monitor, 19 August 2021
See also
*
Afghan Air Force
The General Command of the Air Force (, Dari: ) also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Air Force and the Afghan Air Force, is the air force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces.
The Royal Afghan Air Force was established in 1921 under the reign o ...
*
Bibi Ayesha
Bibi Ayesha () is a former military leader who was the only known female warlord in Afghanistan. She controlled a force of 500-1000 men in the Nahrin district of Baghlan Province. Also known as Commander Kaftar (, "The Hyena"), she operated for ...
*
Latifa Nabizada
*
Khatool Mohammadzai
*
Women's rights in Afghanistan
Women's rights in Afghanistan are severely restricted by the Taliban. In 2023, the United Nations termed Afghanistan as the world's most repressive country for women. Since the 2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, US troops with ...
References
External links
official website* , May 9, 2018,
Fox News
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
.
* , December 28, 2016,
askanews.
* , December 27, 2016,
euronews (en español).
* , April 29, 2015,
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse (; AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.
With 2,400 employees of 100 nationalities, AFP has an editorial presence in 260 c ...
(AFP).
* , May 8, 2015,
TOLOnews
Tolo News (Dari and Pashto: ), stylized TOLOnews, is an Afghan news channel and website broadcasting from Kabul. Owned by the Moby Media Group, it was launched in August 2010 as Afghanistan's first twenty-four hour news channel.
TOLOnews is av ...
.
* , March 10, 2015,
ABC 10 News.
Meet Afghanistan's first female fixed-wing pilot (archived) Al Jazeera English, 9 November 2015.
"We were wrong …and now we're proud of you" The Conversation, BBC 17 July 2015 (audio, 2 mins).
Death threats force Afghanistan's first female Air Force pilot to quit As It Happens, CBC radio, 8 August 2015 (audio, 6:47 mins).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahmani, Niloofar
Living people
Afghan aviators
Afghan female military personnel
Women aviators
Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award
Interpreters
Persian–English translators
English–Persian translators
Women in 21st-century warfare
21st-century American translators
Afghan emigrants to the United States
Afghan Tajik people
1992 births
People from Logar Province