A thirty-year-old woman has become the first Kashmiri Muslim woman to become a pilot. Iram Habib, will be joining a private airline next month.

A challenging journey

Habib is the only woman from the Valley after Tanvi Raina to become a pilot.

Though, Habib’s journey was never easy, she kept hope and steadily worked towards fulfilling her dreams. When she was in school, she expressed her desire to join the aviation industry. However, she was discouraged by her parents. She later completed her basic pilot training in US and is currently is studying in Delhi.

Habib, whose father was a supplier of surgical equipment to government hospitals, left her study of doctorate in forestry from the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir to become a pilot, which was her childhood dream.

She said that she had to study hard and pass exams. She also got a commercial pilot licence in the US and Canada, but wanted to work in India. Today she has offers from IndiGo and GoAir.

Habib has become the youngest commercial pilot from Srinagar, Kashmir. However, she still has to hear taunts from her relatives about her choice of career.