Hasanah al-Saba made history as Jamaica's first Muslim woman pilot. She passed her flight test on 25 August 2022 and received her pilot's licence four days later, on 29 August. Barta24's Islam desk retold her story from a report by About Islam.
Her achievement drew attention across the country. 'Seeing myself on television and in the newspapers, I couldn't believe it was me,' she said. Over time she came to see what it meant, and she hopes it will inspire others and reflect Jamaica's national motto, 'Out of many, one people'. 'I am a proud Jamaican. I want to show the people of my country that dreams can come true,' she said.
Her dream began in childhood, on flights to Trinidad to visit her grandparents. The feeling of rising into the sky and the wide views from above stayed with her. In her words, flying gives her a sense of freedom, a short escape from the worries left on the ground.
The licence is not her final goal. She is now preparing to complete commercial pilot training and work for an airline.
Jamaica is a mainly Christian country where Muslims are a religious minority. According to Visit Jamaica, about 6,000 people on the island follow Islam and there are around 12 mosques. Islam's history there is long, however: there were Muslims among the Africans brought to the Caribbean and the Americas as slaves. Against that background, her achievement carries special meaning for Jamaica's Muslim community.
Photo: Matthew Piatt / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0); a training-flight cockpit, representative picture
Source: Barta24
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