City Reports

International Women’s Day: 5 women from Rajasthan who made us all proud

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we bring you stories of some women from Rajasthan who have achieved milestones in their lives and made the country proud.

March 8, 2019, 12:08 pm

Jaipur: The International Women’s Day is being celebrated in Jaipur today.

On this occasion, we bring you stories of some women from Rajasthan who have achieved milestones in their lives and made the country proud.

  1. IAF’s Fighter pilot Priya Sharma from Jhunjhunu

  • Flying officer Priya Sharma from Pilani of Jhunjhunu district became the seventh woman from the country and third from Rajasthan to be commissioned into Indian Air Force (IAF) as a fighter pilot in 2018.
  • Priya completed her second stage training at the Hakimpet Air Force Station in Hyderabad and operated the MiG-21 fighter aircraft of IAF.
  • She was inspired by two-woman fighters who were commissioned from Rajasthan earlier. Priya’s father Manoj Sharma and two of her relatives are already the members of Indian Air Force.
  • Her initial education happened in Kendriya Vidyalaya of Pilani. After that, Priya pursued B.Tech in computer science from MNIT in Jaipur. Priya was selected for the post of Flying Officer after her training at Air Force Academy.
  1. IAF’s Fighter pilot Pratibha Poonia from Churu

    pratibha poonia air force pilot RAjasthan Churu

    Pratibha Poonia Indian Air Force pilot from Rajasthan’s Churu district.

  • Pratibha Poonia belongs to a nondescript village in Churu district of Rajasthan. She is among the only seven women fighter pilots of the Indian Air Force.
  • Pratibha was rejected six times before she was accepted as a fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force but her “Never ever get bogged down by defeats” attitude made the change.
  • Pratibha did her schooling from the only government school in her village and then joined NCC to follow in the footsteps of her father Chhoturm who is an ex-army man. Pratibha took horse riding lessons.
  1. IAF’s Fighter pilot Mohana Singh from Jhunjhunu

    IAF’s Fighter pilot Mohana Singh from Jhunjhunu.

    IAF’s Fighter pilot Mohana Singh from Jhunjhunu.

  • Mohana Singh from Jhunjhunu was among the first three female pilots of India who were inducted in the Indian Air Force in 2016 along with Bhawana Kanth and Avani Chaturvedi.
  • The trio was inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in June 2016. They were formally commissioned by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
  • Her father serves in IAF and grandfather was a flight gunner in the Aviation Research Centre
  1. Ace Shooter Apurvi Chandela from Jaipur

    Apurvi Chandela

    Apurvi Chandela

  • Jaipur girl and ace shooter Apurvi Chandela set the world record in the women’s 10-meter rifle competition at ISSF World Cup on February 23.
  • She made the city and the country proud by winning the gold medal and setting a world record in the women’s 10-meter rifle competition at ISSF World Cup 2019.
  • In September, Apurvi hogged the headlines when she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 along with Anjum Moudgil from Chandigarh. They became the first set of Indian shooters to secure two quota places for the Tokyo Olympics in a Women’s 10-meter air rifle.
  • Apurvi won a Gold medal in the Commonwealth games of 2014 at Glasgow. Her father Kuldeep Singh Chandela is a hotelier.
  1. Mountaineer Asha Jhajharia from Alwar

    Asha jhajharia first woman climber mount everest rajasthan

    Asha Jhajharia, a government nurse, is the first woman from Rajasthan to scale Mount Everest.

  • A government nurse by profession, 40-year-old Asha Jhajharia became the first woman from Rajasthan to scale the highest peak Mount Everest in 2017.
  • Asha hails from Gharsana Khurd village Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan, while her parental family lives in Singhana.
  • Asha is the mother of two children, posted as a staff nurse at a primary health center in Jatuwas village near Kotkasim in Jhunjhunu. Her husband Ajay Singh is an assistant sub-inspector posted in Haryana’s Rewari town, while her father is a retired army officer.
  • She completed her Mount Everest adventure on May 22 in 40 days.
  • She will be awarded on March 8, 2019, for his achievement by the state government.

The stories of these women are a true inspiration to Jaipurites and the women across the country.

First published: March 8, 2019
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