Aruba Faridi Defies Stereotypes, Becomes Pakistan’s Youngest Female Aerospace Engineer

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Aruba Afridi aerospace engineer
Image Source: Twitter

Aruba Faridi is a driven 23-year-old, who beat all the odds to become Pakistan’s youngest aerospace engineer, says women can do anything they put their minds to!

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Faridi hails from the Gulshan-e-Hadid area in Karachi and is the third born in the family. Since her father and brother are both in the field of engineering, also Aruba naturally gravitated towards the field.

via GIPHY

After looking at her father work at Pakistan Steel industry, her interest in electronic devices developed at a young age.

Only tools and electronic devices amused me so I played with them instead of playing with dolls, said Aruba.

Aruba on her work

Faridi detailed her profession saying that she works on a range of aircrafts; they’re generally 19-seaters or smaller than that. Aruba added that she has to make sure the aircraft is technically fit and safe to take a flight.

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This means she has to do a thorough inspection of the vehicle its body, engine, structure, and of course, the entire aircraft, because it needs to be checked before and after each flight.

It is important to maintain the planes because they cannot be fixed mid-flight.

A vehicle moving on the road is safer as it is on the ground and can be repaired even in the middle of a drive. Whereas, an aircraft flies at an altitude of thousands of feet and even a minor fault can put the lives of pilot and passengers in danger.

Financial struggles and big dreams

Pursuing a career in aerospace engineering wasn’t a cake walk for Aruba as her family struggled with financial constraints. Her father worked at the steel mills and his income was limited. So, to get the aerospace certification, she had to take exams that cost around 25,000-30,000 rupees per paper. The money had to be paid in euros as the exams were conducted by a German and British institution.

via GIPHY

Despite unfavorable conditions, her family supported her to the fullest and convinced her to pursue her dreams. Aruba’s father recommended her to take up practical work and sit for the exams when her finances allowed her to. She joined the Hawks International, an aviation company, where she worked for five years, so that she was in a position to complete her certification.

In 2019, Aruba Faridi cleared the certification to become an aerospace engineer and she is to date the youngest female in this field.

Time and again, Aruba has proved her mettle through sheer determination, resilience and by not giving up.

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