UTTAR PRADESH: She comes across as a woman next door from a Muslim family of Saharanpur, the Uttar Pradesh district bordering Uttarakhand. Mehrunissa Shaukat Ali has broken all gender barriers and social stereotypes. People know her as the first woman bouncer of the country.
In her mid-30s, Mehrunissa started out as a bouncer nearly two decades ago. She has been an expert in sorting out bar fights, uncovering illegal drugs and ensuring the safety of women who come to nightclubs.
In yet another first, she now runs her own security agency – Mardani & Dolphin Security Service Pvt Ltd. Mehrunissa’s venture has arranged jobs for at least 2,500 girls and boys. She started her business in November 2021. Mehrunissa is from a conservative family where women were not encouraged to study. Third among four sisters, she recalls how she felt unnerved by the thought that she would be married off like her elder sisters. She wanted to join a combat force – either the Army or the police service.
“All my siblings wanted to study and I wanted to become an Army officer. Braving the scorching sun, I would watch the commando jeeps crossing our locality in Saharanpur,” she says, recalling how she drew inspiration from them.
“My father would disconnect the power so that we could not study. He thought that after getting educated, we would run away and marry men of our choice,” says Mehrunissa. She credits her mother, who struggled to ensure education for her children. “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. The business of Mehrunissa’s father collapsed. However, for her, life took a positive turn. The family had to sell the property in Saharanpur and move to Delhi. “I was in Class XI,” she recalls.
Her father was into interior designing in Saharanpur. He invested all his money in the stock market expecting more profit, but lost his earnings. “We came on the road,” says Mehrunissa.
The year was 2003 when she started looking for a job to support her family. 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. In the meantime, she heard about an opportunity for a female bouncer in Delhi. She applied for it even though the job was a non-female domain.
“When I joined, the atmosphere was strange for a girl who came from a small town; we used to wear the burqa. We were not supposed to even wear trousers and tops,” says Mehrunissa. There were some professional hazards too. She would often come across drunk persons, stay until late in the night in the nightclub and get back home past midnight. “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.
“I was not happy with being called a security guard. 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 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 proved myself and convinced the organiser that I can handle the crowd and make women more comfortable,” she says. Mehrunissa has helped her younger sister in the education of her three children. Her sister was married off when she was 12 years old and was divorced after she became physically challenged following an accident.