In Afghanistan, Death Threats Shatter Dream of First Female Pilot - WSJ

KABUL—At age 21, Niloofar Rahmani became Afghanistan’s first female fixed-wing military pilot, living out her father’s dream and emerging as a symbol of her country’s revolutionary assent to roles for women outside the home.  That was also when her life began to unravel. “This was my dream job,” the Afghan Air Force captain said. “I never thought I would want to quit.”

Now 23 years old, Capt. Rahmani faces death threats from both the Taliban and members of her extended family for daring to work in the male-dominated world of military aviation. Her parents and siblings also fear for their lives, and the family of eight lives in hiding, their comfortable middle-class life lost.

The U.S.-led coalition had publicized Capt. Rahmani’s achievements, helping turn her into one of the faces of the post-9/11 generation of Afghans, those who came of age after the end of Taliban rule. Online photos of the young pilot in her khaki jumpsuit, loose head scarf and aviator sunglasses went viral.

Her experience, however, reveals the limits on women’s rights here, despite the sizable investment by the U.S. and its allies to promote gender equality. Among the advances: Girls schools have opened, women have joined the workforce and some have shed their burqas. But efforts to empower women have at times clashed with traditional Afghan culture.

“We should have this right in Afghanistan,” she told The Wall Street Journal during training in 2012, and urged other young women to follow. “I decided to join the military to be an example for others.”

Capt. Rahmani flies a Cessna 208 turboprop plane that ferries soldiers to battle—and sometimes brings home their remains. A year ago, she became an aircraft commander.- Read More

In Afghanistan, Death Threats Shatter Dream of First Female Pilot