Mehrunnisa Shaukat Ali, the first female bouncer in India, is presently managing her own business called Mardani Bouncer And Dolphin Security Service Private Limited. Apart from working at Social, a well-known cafe in Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village, Mehrunnisa protects private events and famous people, including Bollywood artists. She is a specialist in dissolving bar fights, finding illicit narcotics, and watching out for the security of female customers.
Family
Mehrunnisa Shaukat Ali, the 35-year-old woman, hails from a Muslim family in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. She has six siblings. Her father, Shaukat Ali, was a conservative man. Women in the household were not encouraged to study.Her younger sister is also a professional bouncer. Together they support their entire family.
Dream
Mehrunnisa always dreamed of joining the military or the police. To increase her chances of landing a job as a police officer, she joined the NCC, improved her fitness, and learned karate
Education
She was born into a conservative family. At that time, women were not encouraged to study. Her father disconnected the electricity to prevent them from learning. He prophesied that they would flee and marry men of their choice if educated.
A Disease That Changed Her Life
Her parents planned her marriage when she was twelve years old. At the same time, she was diagnosed with typhoid and was bedridden for a while. However, her mother, after witnessing the hardships of her married daughters, struggled to get the rest of her daughters to school. Mehrunnisa was good at her studies. Her father’s business failed at that point. The family had to sell their property and move to Delhi.
Mehrunnisa’s sister was physically disabled due to an accident. As a result, her husband abandoned her. After that, she and her three young children returned to her parents’ house. Mehrunnisa had to take on their responsibilities too. She met a man who had been a bouncer while attending a wedding event in Delhi. She inquired about his job, so he offered to join.
Mehrunnisa started working in the bouncing field in 2003. But she had to keep the specifics of the job a secret. Because she knew that her family would never allow a woman to do such a job.
Gender Bias In The Workplace
Initially, only men were referred to as bouncers, and women in this position were called security guards. She strongly disagreed with this and fought to be called a bouncer, demanding to be assigned the same responsibilities as male bouncers, including maintaining order at an event, settling disputes, and protecting celebrities. She had to pass several tests before being given the title of a bouncer. She overcame everything to work as a bouncer.
Difficulties In The Job
She found it difficult to explain her job to her family as they believed girls should not work as bouncers. Because of the late nights required for her profession, she and her family had to endure the taunts of the neighbours. However, Mehrunnisa never gave up the confidence to set high standards and worked hard to achieve the goal that defined her life.
Her late-night work schedule made lots of complaints from her family and neighbours. She had to stay up late, which caused people to get irritated and made inappropriate comments.
Revealing The Job Before All
Once she had to reveal more details of her work during an argument with some people. Her father and all family members who came to know more about her work accepted that and she became proud of it. Those who previously insulted her welcomed and praised her. She takes pride in her work and inspires other women to pursue careers in it. More than 2,500 boys and girls currently work for her security company.
Message From Mehrunnisa
She advises everyone to motivate and inspire girls to pursue their academic goals and not assess them based on gender. Mehrunnisa Ali fought against conservative thinking and secured victory in her field. Despite having no support even from her own family, she won everyone’s recognition with her success. With her talent and hard work, she has earned her position in the field of work. With her courage and willpower, she not only built a life for herself but also created a new career field for other women.