MiG-21 and gender integration through eyes of women pilots

The phasing out of the Indian Air Force’s ageing MiG-21 combat aircraft next year has put a spotlight on women pilots who have thus far in their careers flown only the rugged Soviet-origin fighter plane whose checkered safety record has frequently triggered a chorus of concern and calls for its early replacement.

- Rahul Singh

The three women fighter pilots posted in the No 3 Squadron “Cobras” here are flying as much as their male counterparts, performing duties by day and night, and symbolise successful gender integration in the IAF’s crucial fighter stream, the pilots at this front line airbase said.

There are no gender barriers, and the workplace is inclusive, said Squadron Leader Mohana Singh, one of India’s first women fighter pilots.

“In IAF, we have embraced gender equality in the truest sense. The three of us work alongside our male colleagues to accomplish the tasks assigned to the squadron,” she said. IAF, the world’s fourth largest air force, currently accounts for around 20 women fighter pilots.

The service opened its fighter stream to women, a watershed in India’s military history, in 2016. 

It has opened all frontiers for women and is giving them opportunities on a par with their male counterparts. 

On December 2, IAF inducted them in its non-officer cadre for the first time as 153 Agniveervayu (women) passed out from the Airmen Training School Belagavi, Karnataka. They were among the 2,280 recruits inducted into the service.