As they say “in life you are either a passenger or a pilot, it’s your choice.” I chose to be the pilot and not the passenger because I don’t want to watch a difference being made, I want to be the reason and the person who makes the difference.
I am an aviation lover and I very much support gender equality. When I last went on a flight a few years back, the pilots would stand outside and greet us and all flights, and both the pilots were men.
Jambo! My name is Mahek Shah and I am a 15-year-old aviation enthusiast living in Kenya. I was really shocked when I was told that I am the youngest member WAI had. I want this to change. I want more girls to be exposed & aware about not only the pilot career but the aviation industry.
When I began researching I found out that only 3-6% of the pilots in the world are female. When I researched the cause of this, I found out that most women are not exposed to the aviation careers and most families want their girls to take up “women like careers.”
Because of the love I have for aviation – specifically the Pilot Career, I chose my school project to be called Wings for Women. Wings for Women based in Mombasa, Kenya is an initiative where we spread awareness about the pilot career to teenage girls.
This project caused me to research a lot and this is where I found Women in Aviation international. And I immediately I joined it. #GIAD2018 was one of the best experiences ever for me. We- the Kenya family of women in aviation had first-hand experience to how JKIA works behind the scenes. We also got to meet a lot of amazing women with different professions in aviation and they inspired us to be the best version of our selves. This experience for sure has inspired all the girls to take on a career or the other in the industry.
I had A LOT of fun, I learnt A LOT and most importantly I officially joined the Kenyan family of WAI!! I am also very happy to say that this experience has motivated me to make my Wings For Women project even bigger and better. I am proud to be #iamwai. It is true when Raymonde De Laroche said that “flying is the best possible thing for women.”