South Australia’s Kbora Ali proud to be first Afghan woman in ADF

When the Our Lady of Sacred Heart College student scored an ATAR of 97 her parents were not expecting her next big decision.

Kbora Ali with dad Sultan Ali and mum Shireen Gul Ali. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Kbora Ali has two uniforms she wears with pride – her camouflage fatigues as the first woman of Afghan descent to serve in the Australian Defence Force and the colourful, richly embroidered Hazara dress of her cultural heritage.

“They’re like my identity,” says Corporal Ali, who shares insights of her culture and glimpses of her defence life with her 40,600 followers on Instagram.

“From a young age, you move countries, you’re trying to search for who you are. My Defence uniforms and my cultural clothes just signify and showcase who I am.

“When I wear the uniform, it gives me power and strength, when I wear traditional clothes, they’re more feminine, it’s like a change of personality. It’s like how Superman takes off his cape, it feels like that – I can be me.”

Corporal Ali was born in 1997 – she is not sure of the actual date as there’s no official record but she celebrates her birthday on July 17.

A member of Afghanistan’s persecuted Hazara community, her family fled to Pakistan when she was a little girl. There she languished in the Quetta settlement for Hazaris with her mum, four sisters and two brothers while their dad bravely chased a new life in Australia.

In 2009, after being separated for seven torturous years, they were reunited in Adelaide, where her father, Sultan Ali, was living after being released from Woomera detention centre, and eventually settled in Parafield Gardens.

After excelling in Year 12 – finishing Our Lady of Sacred Heart College in Enfield with an ATAR of 97 – Corporal Ali shocked her parents when she enlisted in the Army, making history as the first woman of Afghan descent to serve.

“It means a lot because you represent a whole generation of girls and boys joining, I felt a lot on my shoulders at that time, which is why I want to continue inspiring,” says the 26-year-old, who has also served as a UNICEF Australia young ambassador.

Woman of the Year Awards finalist Kbora Ali is an Afghan refugee who has become a Corporal in the Australian Air Force. Picture: Brett Hartwig

“Whenever people see me or hear my name I want them to think they can be soldiers, they can be students or aviators, they can be UNICEF ambassadors.

“I’m not only the first, I’m the first of many.”

Corporal Ali – who has run a marathon, tossed the coin for Australian Open matches and carried the trophy for T20 cricket clashes between Australia and Afghanistan – has been nominated for the University of Adelaide Rising Star category for the The Advertiser Sunday Mail’s Women of the Year awards.

The Adelaide-based Air Force capability specialist says serving in the Army for six years and then the Air Force for the past two has “definitely given me a sense of identity and purpose, which as a refugee and immigrant you search for all your life”.

Originally published as South Australia’s Kbora Ali proud to be first Afghan woman in ADF