Meet Lt Colonel Josyula Farida Rehana: The First Woman Army Officer to Earn Paratrooper Wings

In the annals of the Indian Army, few stories capture the quiet determination of breaking barriers quite like that of Lieutenant Colonel (Retd.) Josyula Farida Rehana. Born in Mysore in 1940, she became the first woman officer in the Indian Army to qualify as a paratrooper and the first woman to join an operational airborne unit. A surgeon by training and a pioneer by resolve, her journey from the classrooms of Mysore Medical College to the drop zones of the Parachute Regiment remains a landmark in the history of women in the Indian armed forces.

Early Life and Medical Excellence

Josyula Farida Rehana was born in Mysore in 1940. She pursued medicine with distinction, graduating with an MBBS degree from Mysore Medical College. She earned honours along with a gold medal in Surgery, establishing herself early as a capable and dedicated medical professional.

The 1962 Sino-Indian War left a deep mark on the nation. In its aftermath, the Army issued a call for mobilisation of medical officers. Responding to that call, Farida Rehana joined the Indian Army in 1964 as a medical officer in the Army Medical Corps (AMC).

The Struggle for Paratrooper Wings

Once in uniform, she set her sights higher. She applied to join the elite Parachute Regiment’s medical component. The response was blunt. “I was told flatly that I would not be allowed to join the force because I am a woman. In fact, even though I made the cut, my application was rejected twice,” she later recalled.

Some accounts mention the application being turned down three times. Undeterred, she continued serving in the medical wing while pressing her case. Permission was eventually granted. She joined the 60 Parachute Field Hospital (also referred to as 60 Parachute Medical Company), the Army’s unique airborne medical unit with a distinguished history that included service as peacekeepers during the Korean War.

In September 1966 — specifically recorded as 19 September in official timelines — she completed the rigorous parachute training and qualified as a parachutist. This made her the first woman Army officer to earn paratrooper wings and the first woman across the services to join an operational airborne unit. (Flight Lieutenant Gita Chanda of the Indian Air Force had become the first woman in the overall armed forces to qualify as a paratrooper in 1959.)

Service in the Airborne Role

Lt Col Rehana served for 21 years, of which 12 were spent with the para unit. During this period she completed a substantial number of jumps. Popular accounts credit her with almost 1,000 jumps and one free-fall descent. A recollection attributed to her places the figure at around 500 jumps, including combat free-fall. She is also described in several reports as the first woman free-fall paratrooper in the Army.

Because women were not permitted combat roles at the time, her duties remained medical. Yet she operated in the demanding environment of an airborne field hospital, ready to deploy wherever the Parachute Brigade was committed.

Role in the 1971 War

During the 1971 Indo-Pak War, also known as Operation Cactus Lily, she served with 60 Para on both the Eastern and Western fronts. Working close to the front lines, she performed surgical operations under wartime conditions, treating injured soldiers as the conflict unfolded. For her service she was awarded the Poorvi Star and the Paschimi Star.

Awards and Later Recognition

Beyond her wartime decorations, she became the first woman to receive the Gen Choudhary’s Trophy during the 34 Medical Officers Senior Course (MOSC).

In January 2018, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development selected her among 112 women for the Women Achievers Award. President Ram Nath Kovind presented the honour on 20 January 2018 in recognition of her pioneering contribution as the first woman paratrooper and surgeon in the Army.

Legacy

Lt Col Josyula Farida Rehana’s story is not only about personal achievement. At a time when the idea of a woman officer in an airborne unit was almost unthinkable, she persisted through repeated rejections and institutional hesitation. She opened a door that later generations of women officers have walked through with greater ease and institutional support.

In interviews years after her retirement, she expressed quiet satisfaction when meeting serving women officers. “When I meet the women in the force, I feel good. They have better facilities and assistance,” she observed, while affirming that her own years in service had been deeply fulfilling.

Today, as the Indian Army continues to expand opportunities for women in combat support and specialised roles, the example of Lt Col Josyula Farida Rehana stands as an early and enduring milestone — a surgeon who earned her paratrooper wings and proved that resolve, competence and courage know no gender.