All-female flight with passengers and crew lands in Mashhad, Iran

Female pilots remain a minority in Iran, despite a rise in recent years.

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A historic all-women flight landed in the holy city of Mashhad, Iran on Sunday. The flight, operated by Aseman Airlines, was piloted by Shahrzad Shams, one of Iran’s pioneering female aviators.

The flight, named "Iran Banoo" (Iran Lady), carried 110 passengers and arrived at Hasheminejad International Airport, located in Mashhad, home to the revered shrine of Imam Reza. This flight is the first of its kind to have both female passengers and an all-female crew in Mashhad.

The trip coincided with the anniversary of the birth of Fatima al-Zahra, the daughter of Prophet Mohammed, a day celebrated as National Women/Mother's Day in Iran. The flight's significance extends beyond its passengers, highlighting the growing participation of women in Iran’s aviation sector.

While female pilots in Iran have increased in recent years, they remain a minority in the field. In 2019, Neshat Jahandari and Forouz Firouzi made history as the first women to operate a commercial flight in the Islamic Republic.

Shahrzad Shams, who piloted Sunday’s flight, has been recognised for her groundbreaking role as one of Iran’s first female pilots.

Last week Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmady was arrested after performing a virtual concert on YouTube without wearing a hijab, in defiance of Iran's strict morality laws.

The 27-year-old, who was detained in Sari City, Mazandaran province, had broadcast the performance just days earlier, attracting over 1.4 million views.

In the concert, Parastoo Ahmady wore a long black sleeveless dress and was accompanied by four male musicians. Despite YouTube being restricted in Iran, the concert quickly gained attention online, amassing 74,000 views within 12 hours of airing.

Previously the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed to ensure the morality police will no longer "bother" women, in remarks to the media on the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in custody.