The odd (wo)man out

Jasmine Singh

They are neither perceived as ‘solid’ contributors to the formal economy of the country, nor are they seen as a segment making a marked difference to the infrastructure-building of the nation. Women are ideally delegated the job of maintaining a peaceful society, and an equally peaceful and pleasant home, which is why they are expected to take up jobs that suit this profile. Anything that takes them away from the accepted norms, is seen as a sign of rebellion or even moral degradation. Despite the narrow outlook that society holds for them, women across the region are picking up jobs that are considered ‘odd’. From driving an autorickshaw to working as a chowkidar, here are some women who have invaded territories marked for men.  

On her watch

Kuldeep Kaur, chowkidar 

Kuldeep Kaur (45) has had an early dinner as usual. It’s now time to leave for her night duty. After saying goodbye to her children, (four girls and two boys), this strong-built woman picks up the essentials for her job — a torch light and a sharp-edged stick, and sets out to guard the alleys of her village. Bangiwal village is near Nakodar in Jalandhar district. Her deep-set voice calling out jagdey raho bores a hole through the dark night! Kuldeep works as a chowkidar at her village, something pretty unusual for a woman. 

To Kuldeep, however, this job has given her an identity, and is also her only source of income. “My husband expired seven years ago, and I had to run from pillar to post for her pension,” shares Kuldeep with a stoic expression. While she was running around to get her pension, Kuldeep got a job of a village chowkidar with the help of village sarpanch Kashmir Kaur. Bangiwal is a village with 650-700 homes, and Kuldeep is responsible for the safety of the villagers. She also works in the day time, especially when a panchayat is called. She is then supposed to summon people for this official gathering. On some days, Kuldeep is asked to guard the gurdwara as well. “I ensure that the villagers sleep sound while I am on duty.” Kuldeep laughs on the mention of the word fear! “What is it, I haven’t seen or met fear ever,” she smiles. Kuldeep’s job gives her Rs 700 at the end of the month. Nevertheless, she proudly declares, “out of the five girls in the entire village who have passed Class XII, two of them are my daughters.” 

Milking success 

Savita Devi, milk vendor 

Savita comes from an extremely conservative background, where women are not allowed to venture out of their homes, forget about taking up any job, or a job of selling milk. When Savita decided to take up the profession of selling milk at sweet shops and at various households in Karnal, she didn’t realise that she was setting an example for others who didn’t have the courage to break stereotypes. “My husband encouraged me to go ahead with this job or opportunity, if I may call it one.” Savita worked as a school teacher before selling milk, but she likes this unconventional profession more. Today, her work profile is thta she collects milk from the village, cleans it and then sells it to sweet shops and residents of colony number 13 in Karnal. For a mother of two kids, this wasn’t an easy step, “My relatives saw this job as a huge disgrace on the family name, but my husband didn’t utter a single word against my profession,” adds Savita who invited curious glances from onlookers and others who were surprised to see this ‘dhudwali’.  “They would smile at me first, now they shower me with blessings,” she declares.

On autopilot 

Shamshida, autorickshaw driver 

Her younger son did not speak to her for almost a week, when he came to know that her mother would now be working as an autorickshaw driver. “Mera beta kehta mummy, mere dost kya kahengey jab tujhey auto chalatey dekhange (My son lamented what would my friends say when they see you driving an auto).” Shamshida can now narrate this incident with a smile as she ferries around people in Karnal, on her auto. “I am so happy with this job; sometimes I wish I keep driving the whole day and night. I don’t even feel like going home,” she breaks into a throaty laugh. A grandmother now, Shamshida comes from Chandsaraai village where working women are not seen in a good light. But this brave woman doesn’t care. Shamshida makes Rs 700-800 a day and she is more than satisfied with her earnings. This autowali overcame all hurdles that had stopped her from taking up this profession. “Main kam se kam izzat ki naukri to kar rahi hun. Ab baaki auratain bhi mujhey kehti hain ki humey bhi auto rakhao (At least, I am doing a respectable job. Now other women tell me that they, too, want to drive an autorickshaw).” This woman learned driving with the help of company officials, who helped her get the auto. “I was a quick learner,” she says with a confident smile! 

Bouncing back 

Kiran Thakur, bouncer

She was working as a school teacher when a professional bouncer, Meet, convinced her to take up the tough job of a bouncer. “I was sceptical given my petite structure, I had all my doubts... and when I saw those big muscled bouncers, I freaked out, completely,” says Kiran as shares her initial days into the profession, which is totally man dominated or let’s say even cut out for men. Once in the profession, Kiran started working in the gym, getting a robust physique. “I had to look strong, and more importantly, I had to feel strong, which I did eventually.” 

Now, almost ten years into this profession, Kiran has already won many awards- IBN Zindagi Life award and an award on women’s day as well. Are the youngsters, we mean the boys, intimidated by a woman bouncer? “Totally, they better be. They know they are in for a trouble, if they mess around with me. They would never do such a thing.” 

As she stands in the Banjaara Club, Chandigarh, wearing a stern expression, Kiran’s is aware that her job is nothing like the routine 9-5 job.  “My duty finishes only after the party, which could be anywhere around 2 or 3 in the morning.” After work, Kiran prefers to walk down to her home, which is nearby. “Many youngsters offer to drop me home but i prefer to walk.” She has been nicknamed sherni by party poppers but Kiran carries it with pride, “I’ve earned it.” 

Riding her luck 

Bhupinder Kaur, train driver

Any query regarding her work profile and her designation usually invites innocent chuckle from Bhupinder Kaur. “I work as a driver for a goods train,” she says waiting to see our reaction. ‘Train’, we repeat the word to make it doubly sure. Bhupinder nods in approval. This bubbly woman started as a technician. She was recently promoted to the position of a driver. “I am extremely happy with my job. When I initially started out as a goods train driver, everyone would wave at me, giving me thumbs up! Who says women cannot drive trains. They have gone to the moon, main tan sirf train chala rahi han (I am only driving a train),” she smiles. Bhupinder ferries goods to Ludhiana, a duty that keeps her on the move for almost 8-10 hours a day. Driving a train is not a child’s play, as Bhupinder shares the highly technical aspects that she has to deal with. “Driving a train is more technical than mechanical. Look at the console in front me, this is from where I give the commands,” Bhupinder points towards the console that has a generous display of quite a number of buttons of varied colours. Bhupinder has total support of her husband and kids. “They love my job much more than I do,” she smiles yet again.