The first woman to be commissioned as a pilot in the Afghanistan air force has applied for asylum in the United States because she claims she is scared for her life. 25 year old Captain Niloofar Rahmani, was in all the news when she completed her training in 2013, having defied her parents’ wishes to join the training programme in Texas. She had persisted with her education and training despite receiving death threats during and after completion. However, she said that recently the situation had gotten worse in Afghanistan, prompting her to apply for asylum. She said that she had been left with no other choice considering the conditions in her home country.