Abu Dhabi: Winning the Mohammad Bin Rashid Excellence Award is a source of motivation and encouragement to achieve more excellence and innovation, said Captain Mariam Hassan Salem Al Mansouri, the first Emirati female pilot to serve in the UAE Air Force.
During an interview with Nation Shield magazine, Captain Mariam said that she was not even aware that she had been nominated for the award. She said that she heard the news the night before the ceremony and that she was only able to confirm it the following day.
Captain Mariam said that she was extremely proud to be a part of the first group to be honoured in the award’s newly introduced category, ‘Pride of the UAE’.
Answering a question on what it meant for her to compete with others in a male-dominated field, Captain Mariam said that fist and foremost she competed with herself to pave her own path in developing her own abilities. She said that unlike competing with others, competing with yourself is a never-ending process and is a source of motivation for continuous learning.
Captain Mariam joined the Armed Forces right after high school. She said that back then, women were not allowed to become pilots in the Air Force. She continued to work in the General Command of the UAE Armed Forces, and once women were permitted to join the Air Force, she was the first to apply. Captain Mariam holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from UAE University, and later joined the Khalifa Aviation College.
She added that what attracted her to being a pilot in the Air Force was the fact that she could be a part of the nation’s defence forces. She pointed out that she also likes the field’s high level of competitiveness, which requires one to exert all efforts to achieve excellence.
