Hailing from the Jasovar village in the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, the daughter of a TV mechanic, Sania Mirza has created history and become the country’s first Muslim girl and the state’s first female fighter pilot.

Sania Mirza had cleared the NDA exam and secured 149th rank and has been selected to become a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. She has become the country’s first Muslim woman officer to join the IAF and the first woman officer from the state to join as a fighter pilot.

Sania Mirza: India’s First Muslim Woman To Become A IAF Fighter Pilot | ANI

Daughter of a TV mechanic

A resident of Mirzapur’s Jasovar village, Sania Mirza makes her parents as well as the villagers proud. Her father works as a TV mechanic in Mirzapur.

Interacting with ANI, her father Shahid Ali said, “Sania Mirza considers the country’s first fighter pilot Avni Chaturvedi as her role model. From the beginning, she wanted to be like her. Sania is the second girl in the country who has been selected as a fighter pilot.”

Sania Mirza: India’s First Muslim Woman To Become A IAF Fighter Pilot | amarujala

Sania Mirza’s hard work and dedication brought not only her village but also the state into the limelight. Sania Mirza’s mother Tabassum Mirza also praised her daughter and said, “Our daughter has made us and the entire village proud. She fulfils the dream of becoming the first fighter pilot. She inspired every girl in the village to follow their dreams.”

Sania pursued her schooling in a Hindi medium school. The budding fighter pilot completed her high school at Pandit Chintamani Dubey Inter College in her village.

Class 12 topper

After class 10, she got admitted to Guru Nanak Girls Inter College in Mirzapur city to complete her class 12. According to reports, Sania Mirza was also a class 12 topper in UP Board in the district. After passing her class 12 exam, she started her preparations at Centurion Defense Academy.

Sania Mirza: India’s First Muslim Woman To Become A IAF Fighter Pilot | Twitter

Only two seats were reserved for fighter pilots

In the National Defense Academy 2022 examination, there were a total of 400 seats including male and female. There were 19 seats for women, and only two seats were reserved for fighter pilots. In these two seats, she managed to get a place on the strength of her hard work.

In an interview with ETV Bharat Online Sania Mirza said, “There were only two seats reserved for the women in the fighter pilot wing. I failed to grab a seat in the first attempt. However, I managed to bag a seat in the second attempt.” She also maintained that it’s a myth that candidates with good communications s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s in English are selected for this coveted league.

Inspired by the country’s first fighter pilot Avni Chaturvedi

Sania Mirza is the second girl in the country who has been selected as a fighter pilot. First is Avani Chaturvedi, who inspired her to become a fighter pilot.

Avani Chaturvedi with other women pilot | Twitter

In 2015, the Government of India decided to open up combat roles to women in the Indian Air Force (IAF) on an experimental basis for five years. As a result, in 2016, the IAF commissioned three women as fighter pilots. Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth, and Mohana Singh created history by becoming the first female combat pilots in the IAF.

According to reports, Sania Mirza will join NDA Khadakwasla in Pune on December 27, 2022, and if all goes well Mirzapur’s Sania Mirza will be the first Muslim fighter in the Indian Air Force (IAF).