From 1995 to 2004, Aresta Bakhishova studied at public school number 3, in the village of Bilajari, in Shusha. During 2004-2008 she studied English at the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical College. In 2018-2019, she worked as a medical statistician at the Main Military Hospital of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. Since July 12, 2019, she served as an operator at an undisclosed military base of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces located in the district of Beylagan.


Aresta Bakhishova, a sergeant and military paramedic of the Azerbaijan Army, provided medical aid for the wounded servicemen on the battlefield in the fight for liberation of Fuzuli, Zangilan and Gubadli during the Patriotic War, which began on September 27, 2020. She died heroically during the battles for Gubadli on the 23rd of October. She was buried at “Shahidlar Khiyabani” (Alley of Martyrs) in the settlement of Bilajari.


She was posthumously awarded the "For the Motherland" medal and the Florence Nightingale medal, established by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on May 12, 2021, which is named in honor of a British nurse Florence Nightingale.

She left a son, named Mardan, and a daughter, named Zahra, as a remembrance of her.


Mardan Mammadli – the son of Aresta Bakhishova, the only female martyr of the Patriotic War – was a 14-day participant of the “Winners’ Camp” organized for the children of martyrs. The representatives of AzVision.az talked with the child of the martyr while learning about the activities of the camp.

- I am proud and privileged to be a hero’s son. I loved my mother very much. She took care of us and gave us motherly love. We proudly received the news of my mother's heroic death. Martyrs do not die; they will always live in our hearts. May God have mercy on all martyrs!


- When was the last time you saw your mother?
- My mother signed me up for math lessons. She always wanted us to do well in our studies. That’s why she hired teachers for us. When she was leaving for the war, she told me and my sister, “I’m going to work, I’ll be back on Saturday.” I said goodbye to her and went to class. My mother left the house two hours after me. The next day, the news came that my mother was killed in action.

- What were Mrs. Aresta’s expectations for her children? What advice did she give you?
- She always told us to study well, serve the Motherland, and help the poor.


- Do you follow your mother’s advice and study well?
- Yes.

- What subject do you like the most?
- Math and English. My mother was an English teacher herself. However, she set aside her qualification and became a nurse at a hospital.

- You are yourself a hero soldier of the future...
- I have a desire to become a military man. I have thought about it since my childhood. Perhaps I have such a desire because of my mother's devotion to the Motherland.




It should be noted that the young sculptor Mustagil Balayev created a bust of Aresta Bakhishova, the only female martyr of the Patriotic War.