Female pilots in Afghan military
From a childhood as a refugee, Captain Safia Ferozi is now flying a transport plane for Afghanistan's air force as the country's second female pilot, a sign of the efforts to bring more women into the armed forces. Along the way, the 26-year-old Ferozi also married another pilot, who flies in the same unit supporting army ground forces. The couple are part of a small Afghan air force that is trying to take a greater role in fighting the Taliban insurgency. Nearly 16 years since the collapse of the militant Taliban regime after the US-led invasion in 2001, Afghan women are taking steps to increase their presence in society, including in parliament, government and the military. Still, they face resistance in a deeply conservative society where women are largely expected to stay in the home and where violence against women remains a widespread problem. When she was a child, Farozi's family fled from their home in Kabul during the 1990s during the civil war among Afgha...