Lieutenant Thokozile Muwamba makes history in Zambia

24-year-old Second Lieutenant Thokozile Muwamba has
made history in Zambia as the country’s first female
fighter pilot to be accepted into the male dominated
area of the military.

After joining the military in 2012, Muwamba was
fortunate to be part of the Zambian Air Forces
programme to train female pilots who will bridge the
gender gap in the field.

“Men are not a competition but counterparts that one
should work with, and hence women should begin to
participate and realise their abilities. Because of this
understanding, I am ready to undertake this task ahead
of me,” she told local media Times of Zambia last
week.

“I look at the fact that when I am in the aeroplane, the
aircraft knows no sex as it depends on my input even if
I am a woman. I can also give it the right steering for it
to respond correctly,” Muwamba added.

“ Impossibilities can be made possible as
long as one was determined to attain one’s
goal. ”

The Zambian Air Force commander Lieutenant General
Eric Mwaba Chimese announced in 2015 their decision
to introduce female pilots to boost the fight for gender
equality in Zambia.

According to Brigadier-General Kapungwe, who is the
commander of the ZAF base in Mumbwa, having
Second Lieutenant Muwamba as the first female fighter
pilot is a clear illustration that women were progressing.
“We want to see more women in the country to become
fighter pilots in future,” the paper quotes him.

Second Lieutenant Thokozile Muwamba quit as a first-
year student at the Copperbelt University (CBU) to join
the military and pursue her dream career of being a
pilot.

She owed her success to hardwork, determination and
inspiration from her family and instructors.

“Impossibilities can be made possible as long as one
was determined to attain one’s goal,” she advised other
women.

Africa has only a few female pilots especially in the Air
Force.

Nigeria decorated its first female pilot, Flying Officer
Blessing Liman, in 2012. Liman was apparently the first
female military-pilot in West Africa at the time.