Mawya Sudan becomes IAF’s 1st woman fighter pilot from J&K

From drawing sketches of flying machines on the walls of her room to getting wings in the Indian Air Force (IAF), 24-year-old Mawya Sudan has become the first woman from Jammu and Kashmir to become a fighter pilot.

Mawya’s family originally belongs to Lamberi village on the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district.

Her father, Vinod Kumar Sharma, is an engineer in the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. The family is settled in Jammu.

Her uncle, Raj Sudan, recalled Mawya’s journey. “She did her schooling from Carmel Convent School and later joined JK Public School in Kunjwani. She then earned a government scholarship to study outside J&K. She went on to pursue her graduation at MCM DAV College in Chandigarh,” he said.

“Since her childhood she was attracted towards flying machines and used to draw their sketches on the walls in her room. She was into sports also,” he added.

He described Mawya a self-motivated person, who used to watch helicopters hovering in the sky on the LoC in her native village.

After her graduation, Mawya took the Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT).

While waiting for her results, she joined Panjab University for postgraduation in defence studies.

“Barely two months into the course, she qualified the AFCAT. We are very proud of her achievement,” Raj said.

Mawya has an elder sister, Tanya, who is an alumna of Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode.

She was inducted as a fighter pilot during the combined graduation parade ceremony in Hyderabad last Saturday.

She is the 12th woman fighter pilot in the IAF.

J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha has congratulated Mawya on her achievement. “Congratulations to Mawya Sudan, daughter of J&K, who has been commissioned as a flying officer in the Indian Air Force. It is a matter of immense pride & joy to see you scripting history. With this achievement, you have lent wings to the dreams of millions of our daughters,” he said in a tweet.