Kathmandu | When her husband, a pilot for a small Nepali airline, died in a 2006 plane crash, Anju Khatiwada made a vow: She would continue his dream.

In the face of family opposition, she gave up her nursing career and pursued years of pilot training in the US, raising her daughter with the help of her parents. Upon her return to Nepal, she took up flying for the same company, Yeti Airlines, in 2010, rising to the rank of captain after racking up thousands of hours in the air.