Having moved to Australia at the age of seventeen, Glasgow-born Kuljit Jassal believes was a trailblazer of sorts of many Sikhs who are serving in the Australian Defence Force today.
When Ms Jassal joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1988 as a Logistics Officer, there weren’t many Sikhs the ADF. She was, in fact, the first Sikh woman to join the RAAF. Since then, many Sikh men and women have chosen to have a career in the Australian Defence Force.
Currently, Ms Jassal is working with Western Australia’s Department of Education as a finance systems support officer.
She shares with SBS Punjabi her journey.
Challenges she faced
One of the biggest challenges I have had to face was when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2006. The best news is that I have been cancer free since. I got through this tough period with lots of love and support from my family and a core group of friends.
Can women have it all?
I think we can to some extent. We go through different stages in our lives where we concentrate on different aspects of our lives – first with our studies and then the first job where we try to make our mark. Five years into my Air Force career, I got married and then later we started a family but I still continued my work as an Air Force Officer.
Whilst continuing to work and with the support of my family, I managed to take some time out to devote to extracurricular activities like volunteering at our daughter’s school’s P & C committee, the Local Drug Action Group, the School Board and other community and cultural groups.
The most fulfilling of all has been my volunteer work with the Australian Sikh Heritage Association where we research early Sikh settlement in Western Australia and then share it with the rest of the community. We are presently working with the City of Canning and the state’s the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions to build the Sikh Heritage Trail at Adenia Park in Riverton.
Kuljit Jassal with ASHA team members. Source: Husveena Singh Photography
Kuljit Jassal (right) with her daughter Husveena Singh. Source: Supplied
The best advice she has ever received
One of the best pieces of advice I was given was when I was a young junior RAAF officer at my first annual Logistics Officers function when a senior Group Captain asked me whether I wanted to ‘write the path or ride the path that was already written’. I found those words to be very profound and I would like to share them with other women.
This is part of SBS Punjabi’s special series dedicated to the International Women's Day. Watch this space for more such stories.
Read about more inspiring Indian-Australian women here
Ranjana Srivastava: Fighting cancer by not just treating patients, but also empowering them
