Open Skies: My Life as Afghanistan's First Female Pilot

Rahmani, Niloofar; Sikes, Adam

ISBN 10: 1641603348 / ISBN 13: 9781641603348

Published by Chicago Review Press, 2021

Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G1641603348I4N10

Synopsis:

Niloofar Rahmani was born in 1991 in Kabul, Afghanistan, just a few years after the Soviets left, and during the rise of the Taliban her father took his young family to Pakistan, where they lived for nine years as refugees. Then, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the international coalition's invasion, the Rahmani family returned to their home in Kabul. In 2010, for the first time since the Soviets, Afghanistan allowed females to join the military, and Niloofar entered Afghanistan's military academy. However, the professed openness of the new Afghan military could not surmount centuries of chauvinism. Niloofar had to break through social barriers to demonstrate confidence, leadership, and decisiveness-essential qualities for a combat pilot. Against the odds, Niloofar performed the first solo flight of her class-ahead of all her male classmates- and in 2013 became Afghanistan's first female fixed-wing air force pilot. Yet some Afghan soldiers refused to fly with her, while others disparaged and harassed her. In 2014 the Taliban threatened Niloofar, her father lost his job, and extended family members disavowed them. The US State Department honored Niloofar with the International Women of Courage award and sent her to the United States to meet Michelle Obama and fly with the US Navy's Blue Angels. But when she returned to Kabul, the danger to her and her family had increased significantly, forcing them to move every few months. In 2015 the US military brought Niloofar back to the US to learn to fly C-130s, but before graduation she learned she could go home, and requested political asylum. She was granted US asylum in 2018, and yet she and her family are still in hiding in America.

About the Author:

Niloofar Rahmanibecame the first female fixed-wing pilot for the Afghan Air Force in 2012. She speaks three languages and has been interviewed for theWall Street Journal,theIndependent, and PBS as well as by Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper. In 2015 the US State Department presented Rahmani with the International Women of Courage Award. She lives in the southeastern United States.Adam Sikes is a decorated US Marine veteran and freelance writer.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Open Skies: My Life as Afghanistan's First ...
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Publication Date: 2021
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket