Niloofar Rahmani facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Niloofar Rahmani
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Rahmani in 2013
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| Born | 1992 (age 32–33) Logar, Afghanistan |
| Allegiance |  Afghanistan |
| Service/ |
Air Force |
| Years of service | 2012–2018 |
Niloofar Rahmani (Persian: نیلوفر رحمانی, born around 1992) is a brave pilot from Afghanistan. She made history by becoming the first female fixed-wing Air Force pilot in her country. She was also the first female pilot in the Afghan Air Force after the Taliban government ended in 2001. Even though her family received serious threats, she kept going with her training. In 2015, she won the U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award for her amazing strength and courage.
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Early Life and Dreams
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Niloofar Rahmani was born in Afghanistan in 1992. Her family spoke Persian. For a while, she lived with her family in Pakistan before they moved back to Kabul in 2001. Since she was a little girl, Niloofar dreamed of flying planes. To make her dream come true, she spent almost a year studying English. This helped her get into flight school. Niloofar is from the Tajik ethnic group.
Becoming a Pilot
In 2010, Niloofar joined the Afghan Air Force Officer Training Program. She worked very hard and graduated as a Second Lieutenant in July 2012. During her training, some doctors in the Afghan Air Force tried to say she was not strong enough to fly. But Niloofar was determined. She was the only female student in the program. She was inspired by her father and by two female helicopter pilots from the Soviet era, the Nabizada sisters.
Her very first solo flight was in a small plane called a Cessna 182. Niloofar wanted to fly even bigger aircraft. So, she went to advanced flight school. Soon, she was flying the C-208 military cargo plane.
Facing Challenges
In Afghanistan, women were traditionally not allowed to transport injured or fallen soldiers. However, during one mission, Niloofar landed her plane and found injured soldiers. She bravely decided to fly them to a hospital, even though it went against the rules. When she told her commanders what she had done, they did not punish her.
When people learned about Niloofar's achievements, her family started receiving threats. These threats came from some family members and from the Taliban. They did not approve of her career choice. Her family had to move many times to stay safe. But Niloofar remained strong. She wanted to fly an even larger C-130 plane. She also hoped to become a flight instructor to encourage other women to follow their dreams.
In 2015, she began training on C-130 planes with the US Air Force. She finished this program in December 2016. After that, she asked for asylum in the United States. Niloofar hoped to eventually become a military pilot for the United States Air Force.
Life in the United States
In April 2018, Niloofar Rahmani was granted asylum in the United States. She lives in Florida with her sister, who is also trying to get asylum. Niloofar now works as a translator. She helps people communicate in Persian, Dari, and English.
In 2021, Niloofar shared her life story in a book called Open Skies: My Life as Afghanistan's First Female Pilot.
See also
- Afghan Air Force
- Bibi Ayesha
- Latifa Nabizada
- Khatool Mohammadzai
- Women's rights in Afghanistan
In Spanish: Niloofar Rahmani para niños
