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A trailblazing fighter pilot inspiring girls to make a career in the defence services, an athlete hailed as the marathon girl of Kashmir, an MBBS graduate who overcame physical challenges to become the only woman in Jammu to run a tent house business, and an artisan training and empowering thousands of women to earn a livelihood from home. In a three-part series, HT will shine the light on more such women from Jammu and Kashmir who have carved out a name for themselves through determination and hard work.
Flying high on dream
Flying officer Mawya Sudan, 24, is a trailblazer. The first woman fighter pilot from J&K has fired up the imagination of girls of the border belt looking to make a career in the defence services, particularly the Indian Air Force.
From drawing sketches of flying machines on the walls of her room during her childhood to becoming the 12th woman fighter pilot of the IAF, she is flying high on her dream. Her achievement is all the more special as she belongs to the remote Lamberi village on the Line of Control in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district. Located south of the Pir Panjal, where India launched the surgical strike in 2016 to avenge the attack on the Uri army camp, villages such as Lamberi see shelling by Pakistan during border skirmishes.
“It was innate to her… As a child, she would watch helicopters flying over. She would bring chalk pieces from school and draw planes on the walls. Those crude sketches gave way to posters of jets as she grew up. She dreamt of taming a big flying machine and she is living her dream now,” says her father, Vinod Sudan, an engineer.
While Mawya is undergoing training at present, her father recalls her flight path. She studied at Carmel Convent School before opting for the non-medical stream at JK Public School, Kunjwani. She scored 80% and qualified for the Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme to study for a degree course in an institution outside the state. She opted for MCM DAV College for Women in Chandigarh and graduated with honours in political science before joining the defence and national security studies at Panjab University.
“…Five months into the post-graduation course and Mawya got a call to join the IAF academy at Hyderabad,” he says.
Marathon girl of Kashmir
Her penchant for running and cycling has earned her the epithet of marathon girl of Kashmir. At 27, Insha Wadoo has come a long way. A resident of Srinagar’s Old City, she started running at 14 and is a professional marathoner and cyclist who trains school students in athletics, cycling, volleyball, kho-kho among other sports. She completed her Bachelor in Physical Education (B.P.Ed) in 2017.
“I played cricket and badminton as a child but started running to overcome health issues in Class 9. I haven’t stopped since and won’t even when I become a grandmother!” she says.
She leaves home early in the morning on her cycle for Badam Wari, the almond garden, in Rainawari. She runs 7km on weekdays and 25-30km on weekends.
In 2010, 16-year-old Insha won her first 10km Srinagar marathon. Since then, not a year has gone by when she has not won medals in running and cycling events.
Her mother Tasleema and her first coach, Khurshid Ahmad Bhat, are her role models.
Insha is the youngest of three siblings and their father is a cab driver. Her mother has been bedridden after suffering a stroke three years ago and Insha helps her with physiotherapy sessions.
Running alongside Australian ultra-marathoner Pat Farmer in 2016 from Banihal in south Kashmir to Nishat Garden on the banks of Dal Lake, covering 110km, is her memorable achievement. “I was the only woman among six athletes who ran alongside him.”
Becoming the change
She was afflicted with polio when she was only two months old but that didn’t stop her from becoming a doctor. At 38, Dr Shabnam Nahid is a single parent of two .
“I grew up hearing, ‘Arre yeh toh langdi hai (Oh, she is disabled)’. Even today people call me langdi but their words make me stronger…” says Dr Nahid, who runs a tent and catering business.
An MBBS graduate from Government Medical College, Jammu, she quit the medical profession in 2006 because of the lack of facilities at the girls’ hostel for differently abled students, besides her deteriorating health.
“In 2017, I came across the Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana. In 2018, I decided to set up a tent house and my aim was achieved in 2019.” From the government scheme, she took a loan of ₹6.5 lakh and sold her gold for ₹2 lakh to start the business.
“The support that my parents and husband should have extended was given by my children, Shaeryl and Abbrar. My daughter helps me in wearing the calipers and knows how to handle my needs,” she says.
Today, she stands tall as the only woman in Jammu to be running a tent house. But she has her own challenges. “Some don’t pay in time; others clear their dues in instalments. Labourers are not easily available and goons create problems, but I’m managing.”
Empowering women
When Hassina entered her teenage years in the late ’80s, she was drawn towards Kashmiri embroidery. Three decades on, she is not only an established artisan but also a meticulous trainer, empowering thousands of women to earn a livelihood from home.
At 42, she believes the best way to empower a woman is to provide her with a skill. She has chosen to share her skill to uplift Kashmiri women, most of them with no formal education. “In 22 years, I’ve trained over 10,000 women in tailoring and fashion designing besides Aari and Sozni embroideries, and helped them become self-reliant,” she says proudly.
In 1989, she started a cooperative society and the government provided them with a subsidy of ₹10,000 to buy their own material.
She works with the department of handicrafts, women’s development corporation and urban development agency to provide training and supply products. After she started her training centre in 2001, she decided to train women in a leprosy colony. “People would be reluctant to go there but I wanted to do something for the inmates,” she recalls.
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