I had to break a few rules once during a Sonu Nigam concert in order to get near the stage where male bouncers were deployed. I demanded the duties just like other bouncers that involved maintaining discipline at an event, handling fights and brawls, besides providing security to celebrities. “I was not happy with being called a security guard. “Our neighbours and relatives made fun of me and my family over my work hours.” Even at the workplace, Mehrunissa fought with the system to win the designation of a bouncer rather than a security guard. She would often come across drunk persons, stay until late in the night in the nightclub and get back home past midnight. There were some professional hazards too. We were not supposed to even wear trousers and tops,” says Mehrunissa. “When I joined, the atmosphere was strange for a girl who came from a small town we used to wear the burqa. She applied for it even though the job was a non-female domain. In the meantime, she heard about an opportunity for a female bouncer in Delhi. By virtue of being an NCC cadet at school level, Mehrunissa learnt martial arts and worked on her fitness, hoping to land a job with the police. The year was 2003 when she started looking for a job to support her family. He invested all his money in the stock market expecting more profit, but lost his earnings. Her father was into interior designing in Saharanpur. The family had to sell the property in Saharanpur and move to Delhi. However, for her, life took a positive turn. The business of Mehrunissa’s father collapsed. “My mother was aware of the plight of two of my sisters who had been married off in their teenage years and were suffering terribly,” she says. She credits her mother, who struggled to ensure education for her children. He thought that after getting educated, we would run away and marry men of our choice,” says Mehrunissa. “My father would disconnect the power so that we could not study. Braving the scorching sun, I would watch the commando jeeps crossing our locality in Saharanpur,” she says, recalling how she drew inspiration from them. “All my siblings wanted to study and I wanted to become an Army officer. She wanted to join a combat force – either the Army or the police service. Third among four sisters, she recalls how she felt unnerved by the thought that she would be married off like her elder sisters. Mehrunissa is from a conservative family where women were not encouraged to study. She started her business in November 2021. Mehrunissa’s venture has arranged jobs for at least 2,500 girls and boys. In yet another first, she now runs her own security agency – Mardani & Dolphin Security Service Pvt Ltd. She has been an expert in sorting out bar fights, uncovering illegal drugs and ensuring the safety of women who come to nightclubs. In her mid-30s, Mehrunissa started out as a bouncer nearly two decades ago. People know her as the first woman bouncer of the country. Mehrunissa Shaukat Ali has broken all gender barriers and social stereotypes. UTTAR PRADESH: She comes across as a woman next door from a Muslim family of Saharanpur, the Uttar Pradesh district bordering Uttarakhand.
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