26-year-old Mohaddesa Jafri from Jogeshwari, Mumbai is the first Shia Muslim woman to become a trained commercial pilot. Her parents, Maulana Sher Mohammed Jafri and Aalema Farah Jafri, despite objections from society and relatives, supported Mohadessa's dream of becoming a pilot.
Mohadessa's parents are preachers at the local masjid. Having completed her training in Johannesburg, South Africa Mohadessa returned to India after getting her license. When she was a child, she recalls seeing posters and hoardings of Kalpana Chawla and being fascinated. She asked her father about Kalpana's life, and he narrated her inspiring story.
Mohadessa was only seven years old when Kalapana Chawla passed away following a shuttle crash. It was then she got more interested in knowing about Kalpana's life and started reading up on her and decided to become a pilot.