The Indian Air Force (IAF) announced on Tuesday that Group Captain Shaliza Dhami has been selected to take command of a frontline combat unit in the western sector. Group Captain Dhami will be the first woman to command a missile squadron in the western sector of the IAF, facing Pakistan.

The IAF decided to allow women to join its special forces unit, the Garud commando force to promote gender equality within its ranks.

all wings of the Indian Armed Forces have women in combat roles. The International Society of Women Airline Pilots estimates, India has the highest percentage of female pilots, that is 12.4% of all pilots women, compared to 5.5% in the US and 4.7% in the UK.

Indian Air Force officials in eastern command said that women pilots and ground crew officers are deployed across the country.

“Those were my credentials, my achievements. That is my hard-earned trophy and I will never let anybody with vested interests point a finger at it,” Gunjan Saxena clears the dust around her biopic.

Wives of Armed Forces personnel know the stakes and thus prepare themselves accordingly. One example of this is Garima Abrol, wife of Samir Abrol, a pilot, who was martyred in Mirage 2000 fighter plane crash this year.

Indian Air Force Officer Pooja Thakur sues Indian Air Force for declining her request for permanent commission.