Asli Hassan Abade

 Annamaria on Monday

Regular MIE readers know that I often come across interesting topics to blog about while I am researching background for a story.  We historical mystery writers have to do a LOT of that kind of study.  From time to time a search will dig up something fascinating but that has little or nothing to do with what I am trying to learn.  Today I bring you such a tidbit.  It provides the kind of story I love - one about a woman who broke barriers to realize her dream.

The more you know about Somalia, especially the position of women in the Somali culture, the more impressed you will be with Asli Hassan Abade's accomplishments.

Born on January 1, 1958, she grew up near the Mogadishu airport, dreaming of becoming a pilot.  Eventually, she left Somalia and went to Italy to learn to fly.  She went on to live in the US for a few years but retuned to her beloved homeland in the 1970's, when there was  period of open-mindedness.  In 1976. she joined the Air Force and became the first and, as far as we know, its only woman pilot.  She served as an Air Force Captain for a decade.

When the political situation broke down, she returned to the US, married an American aircraft engineer, and raised her four children.

She has, from time to time, returned to Somalia to stand up for peace.  Literally: quietly standing during government negotiations - holding the Somali flag, dressed in its colors.

In 2011, she flew into Mogadishu to deliver medical supplies to a local children's hospital.

You can see and hear her tell her own story here:

Interview

Viva Captain Abade.