'Girls Can Do It': Sania Mirza May Become India's 1st Muslim Woman Fighter Pilot

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).

"There were 400 vacancies. Of these, girls were eligible only for 19. In flying, there are only two seats for girls, but for boys, there are 90. When I saw this, I felt very bad. I was demotivated because I was worried about how I would be able to make it."

Sania Mirza to The Quint

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Mirza's Road to the Defence Academy

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.

"I did my early education in Jasowar (in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur) from Class 1 to 10, where I was the school topper. I did Classes 11 and 12 from Guru Nanak College, Mirzapur. I was the district topper. The first time I saw Lt Avani Chaturvedi and read about her... she is India's first woman fighter pilot. She was commissioned in 2015. I felt sad instead of feeling happy. Why only in 2015? Then, I came to know that women were not commissioned in the fighter pilot stream before that."

Sania Mirza to The Quint

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.

"I first aimed at scoring in the written exams. And when I scored in that, I aimed at just clearing the interview. When that happened, I motivated myself to crack the pilot aptitude test. Slowly, I passed the medical and flying tests as well. And here I am," Mirza tells The Quint.

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.

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'Don't Discriminate Against Hindi Medium Students'

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.

"I am from the UP Board, and the syllabus is the same as CBSE – the NCERT syllabus. But we used to be treated differently. Hindi is the pride of our country. I wanted to prove that if a child is from Hindi medium, it is not like they cannot switch to English. Maybe (it depends on) financial status, or maybe it's his or her choice. Studying in Hindi can also be someone's choice. To judge someone like that is wrong."

Sania Mirza to The Quint

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.