Women IAF officers more determined: Wing Commander Pooja Thakur

AHMEDABAD: Wing Commander Pooja Thakur, the first woman to lead the Inter-Services Guard of Honour for US President Barack Obama at Rashtrapati Bhavan, on Friday praised the women officers of the Indian Air Force, saying they are more determined than their male counterparts.

"Since women join the air force to make a mark, they're more than determined to outshine their male counterparts," Thakur told TOI. She was in the city as part of IAF's students' interaction drive called the 'Guardian of the Sky'.

With 13-and-a-half years of service experience, the officer is at present posted in the publicity cell of the Indian Air Force in New Delhi, and previously served in Chandigarh and Gorakhpur.

Motivating women to join IAF in large numbers, she said: "Now, there are no institutional barriers per se in how women are treated or how women are respected. All the officers who are posted, whether a lady officer or a male officer, all are given responsibilities in their own portfolios to look after the men and people who work with you, or under you."

As a part of proactive drives to connect with the youth, IAF conducted the student interaction programme at in L D Arts College campus for students of H L College of Commerce and Cept University to create awareness about the IAF in general and career opportunities in the officers' cadre in particular. The students were also given an opportunity to try their hand at parasailing organized by the IAF team on Gujarat Education Society ground.

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