There are still some professions that are considered more suitable for men than women. But women have been breaking stereotypes left right and centre by taking up ‘unorthodox’ jobs. An all-woman’s team in Kerala is responsible for train maintenance and passenger safety. They are the ones who carry out mechanical checks and take care of any mechanical glitches that might occur in a train.
28-year-old railway employee Krishnendu KV apparently said, “Initially I was scared of getting under the trains, but with practice, things have become easier. It is unheard of that women are responsible for entire rakes.”
She along with her team in Thiruvananthpuram are part of India’s first female team who is in charge of maintaining trains and 80 train coaches, all lead by woman supervisors.
For two years, these women have been responsible for the compulsory heavy mechanical checks that are required by the trains to avoid calamities like derailment.
The safety of the train, the passengers, the jobs inside the train, passenger amenities, under gear examinations, they are the ones taking care of it all.
These women have been doing an exemplary job and are an inspiration for other women who want to undertake physical mechanical tasks. All-woman teams are completely capable of keeping a railway line functioning and these Kerala women might be the firsts of the many such teams who might take more mechanical responsibilities of the Indian Railways.
Women of the country are coming forward in all fields. Just a few days ago we received the news that, more than two lakh female applicants applied for Army’s move to induct women in the other ranks of the Corps of Military Police (CMP). The posts advertised were just 100.
Today, when it comes to serving the nation, women are not just doing it from inside their own homes by ‘supporting’ their men in the army. They are actively coming forward to be a part of the country’s army themselves.
People have barely heard of the India men’s football team. Some would probably be astonished at the existence of an India women’s football team. While our country was busy celebrating its win over Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup match, U-17 women’s football team secured a 4-1 victory over Hong Kong’s U-18 side to make it four wins in as many matches.
So here is the thing, the women of the country are progressing and we need to keep making efforts in the direction of women empowerment to encourage more women to take up so-called unconventional, unorthodox careers and shatter more stereotypes.