Born in Mysore in 1940, Josyula Farida Rehana trained as a doctor, graduating from Mysore Medical College with an MBBS and a gold medal in surgery. The 1962 war with China changed the course of her life, and when the Army put out a call for doctors willing to put on a uniform, she answered it, joining the Army Medical Corps in 1964. She wanted a posting with the Parachute Regiment’s medical wing, one of the most demanding assignments the force had to offer, and the answer she got back was blunt. She would recall being told plainly that she would not be allowed to join because she was a woman. Her application was turned down twice by her own account, and by some tellings a third time. She kept submitting it anyway.