When I first saw Top Gun, flying combat jets seemed like the coolest thing ever.
Maybe it was that, or something similar, that stuck this group of talented young women, who are all set to launch their wings in their first flight.
India will see history in the making, as 3 women, Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Seth, become the first women to fly MiG-21 Bison fighter planes.
Avani, Mohana and Bhawana had already set a new chapter in writing, when they became the first women to undergo the intensive pilot training for IAF.
Now by undertaking solo fights in MiG-21s, which hold the record for the world’s highest take-off speed (at 340 kms per hour), these 3 have very strongly smashed the glass ceiling as well.
From solo flights, trainee advances to tactical flight maneuvers, and ultimately to air combats, this is first of the many steps that these pilots will have to undergo, before they can be qualified as trained fighter pilots.
These girls don’t share a common background, be it in terms of area of origin or field of education, but what they do share is the responsibility of breaking the molds that women were forced into for so many years.
While there still remain roles that remain off limits to women, such as combat roles in the Indian Army and the Indian Navy, such efforts prove that the tides are changing.
On the National Girl Child Day, this sure seems to be one hell of a good news.