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Video Editor: Prajnwal Kumar
For 19-year-old Sania Mirza, the daughter of a TV mechanic from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, cracking the entrance exam of the National Defence Academy (NDA) was a dream. With hard work and patience, she achieved it – with her eyes set on becoming a fighter pilot.
If she manages to crack the course over the next four years, Mirza will become the first Muslim woman fighter pilot to join the Indian Air Force (IAF).
When Mirza was about 12 years old, she was inspired by Lt Avani Chaturvedi, who became India's first woman pilot. She, too, wanted to follow in Chaturvedi's footsteps.
The Supreme Court order, directing the Defence Ministry to allow admission of women into the prestigious NDA, paved the way for her to pursue her dream. For the first time in the history of India, 19 women have been admitted into the defence academy.
Mirza adds that one needs to have a "lot of patience." "Patience is a must in defence and in preparation for defence... You have to struggle for everything. You have to pay for everything. You cannot achieve anything free of cost. Whatever you want to achieve, whether it is big or small, you have to pay for it. I struggled a lot. I read through the night without giving any hought to food or sleep," she added.
The only time she ever doubted her own capabilities was when everyone around her said that it would be tougher for students from Hindi medium schools to crack the exam.
Mirza is also on a quest to break stereotypes. "Nowadays, girls and boys are equal in each and every field. Then, why is this (discrimination) still happening to us? I decided that I want to go to the field and prove to defence that girls are equally capable. There is nothing like 'boys should work, and girls should become housewives.' Girls are working as doctors and teachers. But this is a new, challenging field," she says.
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Published: 24 Dec 2022,08:36 PM IST