Top UK military academy commissions first-ever female officer from Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga force

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A female Kurdish Peshmerga officer, the first from the Kurdistan Region, was commissioned by the British Royal Military Academy Sandhurst along with other female officers, the British Army said.

Midya Masti, 30, was a medical doctor in a military hospital for Peshmerga forces in the Kurdistan Region before joining the prestigious Sandhurst academy.

A ceremony was held on March 20 for the 19 cadet officers graduating from the military academy’s short commissioning course, a rigorous training course designed for British Army Reservists and professionally qualified officers such as dentists, lawyers and veterinary doctors.

Along with Masti, two other female officers from Bhutan and Maldives graduated from the intensive course as the first female officers from their countries, which the Army described as ground-breaking.

Speaking of their experience during the course, the low temperature was one of the biggest challenges facing the freshly graduated cadets.

 “The first two weeks were quite difficult, especially sleeping out in the cold,” Masti said.

“I would never have thought I could finish a course such as this, perhaps had they told me I would not have come, but then I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” Masti added, saying she was proud of her military accomplishment.

The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces have female officers in its ranks. Although they are not combatant soldiers, they have played a significant role in the military, particularly during the fight against the so-called Islamic State after 2014.

“I’ve met amazing people here and I’m honored to have graduated from here,” Masti said of her experience at Sandhurst, where all British Army commissioned officers train.

The United Kingdom, within the framework of the Coalition against ISIS, has provided training and military aid to the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces.  

Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly