She looked up at the sky as a little girl, now she commands it.
Those childhood moments, eyes squinting against the sun as aircraft cut lines through the clouds, were not idle dreams. They were prophecies waiting for courage. Today, African women are stepping into cockpits once guarded by tradition, prejudice, and raised eyebrows, and they are doing so with steady hands and unshakeable resolve. The cockpit has no gender and these women are proving it, throttle by throttle.
For decades, aviation in Africa was treated like a forbidden altar for women. “Too technical.” “Too demanding.” “Not for girls.” Yet, as the Yoruba would say, ọmọ tí a o kọ́, ni yóò gbé ilé tí a kọ́ ta. Thankfully, these women refused to be untrained by fear.
Take Captain Tolulope Arotile of Nigeria, whose name still echoes like a drumbeat in the nation’s heart. Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot. Fearless. Brilliant. Gone too soon, yet immortal. Her story is a reminder that some stars burn briefly but light up generations. Omo Ogun! A daughter of courage. When she flew, she did not just fly machines; she lifted the dreams of countless Nigerian girls who had been told to keep their feet on the ground.
Then there is Captain Olufunke Oshonaike, one of Nigeria’s earliest female commercial pilots, who quietly but firmly carved a path where none existed. No noise. No drama. Just competence. Sometimes, revolution wears a calm face.
Across Africa, the skies are filling with women who refused to shrink.
Captain Asli Hassan Abade of Ethiopia broke history as the first African woman to qualify as a fighter pilot. A woman in a fighter jet…let that sink in! While society debated what women “should” do, she was already doing the impossible at supersonic speed. “courage is the mother of success”.
In Rwanda, Captain Irene Koki Mutungi shattered another ceiling as the country’s first female commercial pilot. In Zambia, Captain Yvonne Chishimba made headlines as the nation’s youngest female commercial pilot. Young. Female. African. Triple “impossibility” until she proved it possible. Her story reminds us that time bows to determination.
And Nigeria? Nigeria is rising.
Women like Captain Adeola Ogunmola Sowemimo, one of the first Nigerian female airline captains on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, literally steering dreams across continents. Imagine that, a Nigerian woman at the controls of one of the world’s most advanced aircraft. Goosebumps! Ṣé ẹ rí i? Do you see it?
Captain Kemi Olatunji, flying with international carriers, carrying her heritage into foreign skies.
Captain Haadia Jama of Somalia, the first Somali female pilot, whose story travelled across borders and ignited hope in places where hope had been rationed.
Captain Michelle Joseph of Nigerian heritage in the UK, navigating European airspace with African resilience stitched into her wings.
These women are not just pilots. They are statements. They are walking, flying rebuttals to centuries of limitation.
Let us be honest, the journey is not smooth air. It is turbulence, resistance, isolation. Many trained in classrooms where they were the only woman. Many endured whispers: “Are you sure you can handle this?” Many had to be twice as good to be considered half as capable. Yet, like seasoned captains, they adjusted, recalibrated, and flew on.
This is not just about aviation. It is about African womanhood. About audacity. About refusing to be boxed in by culture misinterpreted and tradition weaponised.
To the little African girl watching planes today from a dusty roadside in Ibadan, a rooftop in Accra, or a balcony in Peckham, this is your sign. The sky is not too high. The dream is not too wild. You are not too much.
The sky has heard a woman’s voice…
And it is answering back.
Ha! Kò sí ohun tí obìnrin ò lè ṣe!
There is nothing a woman cannot do.
Leave a Reply