Meet Sania Mirza, the country's first Muslim woman fighter pilot

It's a series of firsts for UP-based Sania Mirza, daughter of a TV mechanic from Mirzapur, who has been selected to become a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF). With this, she has become the country's first Muslim girl fighter pilot and the state's first IAF pilot, as per reports.

A resident of Jasovar village under the Mirzapur Dehat Kotwali police station area, Mirza secured the position by passing the NDA exam, news agency ANI reported. Mirza, who studied in a Hindi medium school, will join NDA Khadakwasla in Pune on December 27.

As per her father Shahid Ali, 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," her father told ANI.

Mirza reportedly attributes her success to her parents as well as her academy. In an interview with ANI, she highlighted that only two seats were reserved for women in fighter pilot in National Defense Academy 2022 exam.

"I could not grab a seat in the first attempt but I have found a place in my second attempt," she added.

Meanwhile, her mother Tabassum Mirza mentioned that her daughter has made the entire village proud of her achievement. She added that Mirza "inspired every girl in the village to follow their dreams."

Mirza reportedly studied from primary to Class 10 at Pandit Chintamani Dubey Inter College in the village itself. After that, she went to Guru Nanak Girls Inter College in the city. She was the district topper in the 12th UP Board. She started her preparations at Centurion Defense Academy.

In the National Defense Academy 2022 examination, there were a total of 400 seats including male and female. In which there were 19 seats for women, and two seats were reserved for fighter pilots.

(With inputs from ANI)

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