Women in the Pakistan Armed Forces
Rather, they are appointed and serve in operations involving military logistics, staff and senior administrative offices, particularly in the regional and central headquarters.
[8] In 1949, the first lady Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan took personal initiatives and established her own Women's National Guard (WNG), women were encouraged to take up responsibilities in administering first aid, organizing food distribution, dealing with health problems, epidemics and clothing, and above all, in providing moral and emotional support.
[20] The manpower shortages spurred the army to allow women to take part in fields related to medicine and engineering.
Since its establishment, women have been historically barred from battle in the Pakistan Army, serving in a variety of technical and administrative support roles.
[22] On 14 July 2013, 24 female officers in the Pakistan Army, mostly doctors and software engineers, successfully completed a paratroopers' course at the Parachute Training School, becoming the first group of women to do so in the military's history.
It was commonplace to find women serving in service branches such as the medical corps (as nurses or in other similar disciplines).
[30] However, since 2003, women have been allowed to enrol in the aerospace engineering program and others at the PAF Academy in Risalpur—including fighter pilot training programmes.
[29][31] It has been stated that physical and academic standards are not compromised or exploited to favour women, and those who do not achieve the same performance as their male counterparts are immediately dropped from the course, however the level of enforcement of this rule is unknown.
According to Squadron Leader Shazia Ahmed, the officer in charge of the first female cadets in the PAF and a psychologist, this seems to improve the confidence levels of women.
One such woman—Cadet Saba Khan from Quetta, Balochistan—applied after reading a newspaper advertisement stating that the PAF was seeking female cadets.
Three years of training had been completed by the pilots at PAF Academy – Risalpur before they graduated and were awarded their Flying Badges during the ceremony.
Certificates of honour were handed to the successful cadets by General Ahsan Saleem Hayat, then the vice-chief of the Pakistan Army, who acknowledged that the PAF was the first branch of the Pakistani military to introduce women to its combat units.
Commanding Officer Tanvir Piracha emphasized that if the female pilots "are not good enough as per their male counterparts, we don't let them fly."
It was noted that some of the female pilots wear the hijab while others do not, as it is an optional exception to uniform standards should the woman wish to don one.
[34] In 2003, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) started a new combat programme by inducting women to be trained as fighter pilots.
[35] The then vice chief of army staff General Ahsan Saleem Hyat handed certificates of honour to the successful men and women cadets in the PAF Academy.
