Captain Niloofar Rahmani, Afghanistan's first female fixed-wing pilot and the first woman to be trained as an Afghan Air Force pilot, has requested asylum in the United States over safety concerns. Rahmani reportedly made the request after receiving death threats.
Last week, Rahmani was scheduled to return home from the US after completing a 15-month training course. However, a day before her departure, she declared that she did not wish to go because she feared for her safety. Rahmani's family has received multiple death threats from Afghan insurgents.
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Rahmani's request, however, has drawn criticism from many in Afghanistan. She is now facing flak for "betraying" her country in her attempt to seek asylum in the US.
"What she said in the US was irresponsible and unexpected. She was meant to be a role model for other young Afghans. She has betrayed her country. It is a shame," Afghanistan's Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh told AFP.
Rahmani had become a symbol of hope for millions of Afghan women in 2013 when she became the country's first female pilot. She garnered a lot of attention when she appeared in the press dressed in her khaki overalls and Ray Ban Aviator sunglasses.
Rahmani also won the US State Department's Women of Courage Award in 2015 and is often referred to as the 'Afghan Top Gun' named after the famed Tom Cruise movie Top Gun.
