FIRST AUSSIE MUSLIM NAVY CAPTAIN HONORED

Cairo, 20 Muharram 1437/2  November 2015 (MINA) – Captain Mona Shindy, a Muslim weapons engineer, cultural advisor, and business leader in the Royal Australian Navy, has been named the 2015 Telstra NSW Business Woman of the Year, honoring her long career in the navy during which she maintained a strong passion for cultural diversity and inclusion.

I love to inspire people to be innovative and step out of their comfort zones to see things from a different perspective,” Captain Shindy, Director Littoral Warfare and Maritime Support, said at the Telstra celebration last Wednesday.

I want people to be true to themselves without fear or discrimination and be respected for their varying views and contributions, Onislam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The journey of Captain Shindy on Australian warships started 26 years ago when the 23-year-old holder of a university degree in the blokey domain of engineering climbed aboard HMAS Canberra to test missiles in the Pacific.

Throughout her 26 years in the Royal Australian Navy, she amassed wealth of experience including representing the country in Washington DC on the Australian Air Warfare Destroyer Program.

In her current role, she is responsible for the acquisition of the nation’s major defence assets.

“We were an absolute novelty and people knew our every movement, what we got up to and where we were. Overall the experience was a positive experience but there certainly were times that were quite challenging,” Captain Shindy told the Daily Telegraph.

“Most female engineers in any work environment  you really do have to work that little bit harder initially to prove your worth, to demonstrate your competence to really be accepted fully as valued member and a real contributor to the team.”

Her first major challenge came in Ramadan when she was told to eat with everyone else or simply not.

“My first reaction is to empathize, rather than get angry, and to try and be part of the solution and work on the education piece, through engagement and interaction and just being professional about what I do and delivering professional outcomes and results. In the end, people respect that,” she said. (T/Imt/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)