Pakistan-born woman a leading engineer at NASA

Against all odds: Pakistan-born woman a leading engineer at NASA

The story of a Pakistani born woman, who survived the war in the Gulf, lived as a refugee in the desert and then went on to become a part of NASA is definitely heart-warming.

Hibah Rahmani is a rocket engineer at NASA and her tale serves as a role model to girls all over the world, that no matter how bleak things appear at times, they have it within themselves to defy all odds and break stereotypes.

Background

Rahmani was born in Pakistan. Her family moved to Kuwait when she was barely a month old. She spent a peaceful childhood in the Arabian Gulf, until war broke out between Iraq and Kuwait in the early 90s.

“My fondest memory growing up is taking walks with my family at night, either in the desert or on the sidewalk by the Arabian (Persian) Gulf, looking up at the sky to admire the moon and stars, and thinking about astronauts such as Neil Armstrong who have stepped on the moon,” she said. “It was around this time I developed a passion for science, space and astronomy.”

However, those memories came to an end when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 and she had to flee with her family to no man’s land near the Iraq-Jordan border. They reached at night and the camp was out of tents. Her family had to spend the nights under an open sky in the desert.

While that time was characterised by misery and hardships for her and her family, it was also the start of something pure – her newfound love for stars.

“Even though this was a tough time for us, one of the things I remember from that night was having a nice view of the sky with the golden moon and stars, while trying to sleep on the cold desert sand. It reminded me of my goals and dreams.”

After a brief stay in Jordan, she traveled with her mother and sister to Pakistan. Her father was in the US at the time of the invasion but the family got reunited back in Pakistan. This incident served as the catalyst for her newfound dream, and she was determined to make it to where she can take her study of stars further – NASA.