NEW DELHI: Defying patriarchy and breaking right into a sparsely guarded male bastion, Meena Ahirwar is atmosphere new standards as she is going about construction homes and supervising work at structure sites in her function as a "raj mistry", or head mason.
Right now, she is part of the development workforce construction a three-storey area in Hari Nagar. From layering well laid out rows of bricks with cement and checking the column strength for sturdiness to retaining an eye fixed over the junior mason and the helpers, Meena’s self belief on website presentations she is at least the men at the process.
Masonry is assessed as professional labour and commands a higher every single day salary. The "raj mistry" holds a place of prominence in the hierarchy of labourers where men proceed to dominate the work profile.
For Meena, it used to be now not a very easy choice to transition from the function of a helper, normally reserved for women labourers, to turn out to be the professional mason that she is today. The transition began some seven years ago when she instructed her husband, a "raj mistry", that she wanted to stroll in his footsteps to carry house extra money for a better education for their 5 children. "Woh hairan zaroor huey lekin mana nahin kiya aur kaha ke kar sakti ho toh karo (He was surprised but did not discourage me and said, ‘Do it if you can’)." Since then the couple have walked the path of masonry in combination, challenging stereotypes and responding frivolously to the surprise and awe Meena’s "raj mistry" standing very regularly evokes. The residents of the slum cluster in Hari Nagar, where they reside, are nonetheless coming to terms with Meena’s work profile. She mentioned when she began some laughed and some instructed her that this work used to be now not for women and that it used to be a person’s process. "I told them only one thing: I am doing this for my children’s future," she instructed TOI.
Her head covered with a dupatta and a smile on her face, Meena stopped for a fast chat with this TOI correspondent on the structure website. She mentioned they'd migrated to city cities virtually twenty years ago as a result of loss of rain made farming tricky in their village in Madhya Pradesh. She first labored as a helper at structure sites. Now she makes up to Rs 800 a day as a "raj mistry".
Meena’s work has stood the check of time and he or she handles onsite work by means of herself if her husband is away. "I picked up the skills watching and helping my husband. Today I take construction-related decisions with the contractor. It is not about gender, it is the quality of work that gives people confidence," Meena mentioned.
"Before the construction started Meena was introduced to us by her husband, Pyarelal, as the mason who would assist us with some repair work. We were surprised to see a woman mason but the quality of work was good, and now that we are reconstructing our house she’s the one supervising the masonry," Balbir Singh, one of the crucial owners of the under-construction area, mentioned.
Like Meena, a few kilometres away in Bakkarwala JJ colony Ruksana is challenging the men by means of dressed in the badge of a area painter with satisfaction. She now takes contracts and has no qualms about balancing on wooden planks reduced from construction tops to paint the exteriors. This mom of 3 instructed TOI she used to earn a measly Rs 60 as a daily-wage labourer at structure sites long ago in 2004. "I realised the painter made a lot more money and started picking up the skills. Today, I take contracts and employ labour to execute painting jobs not just in houses but in offices too," Ruksana mentioned. She is aware of the dangers considering operating at a peak and has observed other people fall, but this doesn’t deter her from following her dream for a better lifestyles for her family.
Unlike those two ladies, who discovered luck even as they try in male bastions, 33-year-old Kalawati Yadav is yet to find acceptance as a girl mason even if she holds two certificate in masonry received in government-sponsored ability coaching programmes. When TOI visited her area in Savda Ghevra slum resettlement in northwest Delhi, Kalawati, a mom of 3, briefly brought out her certificate. She additionally pulled out the flowery instrument package of a mason after which pointed in opposition to her 18 sq.ft area to mention she had finished the masonry herself after finishing the path. Word spread and he or she got some work as a mason. But most commonly she has had to return to operating as a helper. She now demands that the concerned government government must come to the rescue of ladies like her, who're attempting laborious to problem stereotypes, and create jobs for them.
Right now, she is part of the development workforce construction a three-storey area in Hari Nagar. From layering well laid out rows of bricks with cement and checking the column strength for sturdiness to retaining an eye fixed over the junior mason and the helpers, Meena’s self belief on website presentations she is at least the men at the process.
Masonry is assessed as professional labour and commands a higher every single day salary. The "raj mistry" holds a place of prominence in the hierarchy of labourers where men proceed to dominate the work profile.
For Meena, it used to be now not a very easy choice to transition from the function of a helper, normally reserved for women labourers, to turn out to be the professional mason that she is today. The transition began some seven years ago when she instructed her husband, a "raj mistry", that she wanted to stroll in his footsteps to carry house extra money for a better education for their 5 children. "Woh hairan zaroor huey lekin mana nahin kiya aur kaha ke kar sakti ho toh karo (He was surprised but did not discourage me and said, ‘Do it if you can’)." Since then the couple have walked the path of masonry in combination, challenging stereotypes and responding frivolously to the surprise and awe Meena’s "raj mistry" standing very regularly evokes. The residents of the slum cluster in Hari Nagar, where they reside, are nonetheless coming to terms with Meena’s work profile. She mentioned when she began some laughed and some instructed her that this work used to be now not for women and that it used to be a person’s process. "I told them only one thing: I am doing this for my children’s future," she instructed TOI.
Her head covered with a dupatta and a smile on her face, Meena stopped for a fast chat with this TOI correspondent on the structure website. She mentioned they'd migrated to city cities virtually twenty years ago as a result of loss of rain made farming tricky in their village in Madhya Pradesh. She first labored as a helper at structure sites. Now she makes up to Rs 800 a day as a "raj mistry".
Meena’s work has stood the check of time and he or she handles onsite work by means of herself if her husband is away. "I picked up the skills watching and helping my husband. Today I take construction-related decisions with the contractor. It is not about gender, it is the quality of work that gives people confidence," Meena mentioned.
"Before the construction started Meena was introduced to us by her husband, Pyarelal, as the mason who would assist us with some repair work. We were surprised to see a woman mason but the quality of work was good, and now that we are reconstructing our house she’s the one supervising the masonry," Balbir Singh, one of the crucial owners of the under-construction area, mentioned.
Like Meena, a few kilometres away in Bakkarwala JJ colony Ruksana is challenging the men by means of dressed in the badge of a area painter with satisfaction. She now takes contracts and has no qualms about balancing on wooden planks reduced from construction tops to paint the exteriors. This mom of 3 instructed TOI she used to earn a measly Rs 60 as a daily-wage labourer at structure sites long ago in 2004. "I realised the painter made a lot more money and started picking up the skills. Today, I take contracts and employ labour to execute painting jobs not just in houses but in offices too," Ruksana mentioned. She is aware of the dangers considering operating at a peak and has observed other people fall, but this doesn’t deter her from following her dream for a better lifestyles for her family.
Unlike those two ladies, who discovered luck even as they try in male bastions, 33-year-old Kalawati Yadav is yet to find acceptance as a girl mason even if she holds two certificate in masonry received in government-sponsored ability coaching programmes. When TOI visited her area in Savda Ghevra slum resettlement in northwest Delhi, Kalawati, a mom of 3, briefly brought out her certificate. She additionally pulled out the flowery instrument package of a mason after which pointed in opposition to her 18 sq.ft area to mention she had finished the masonry herself after finishing the path. Word spread and he or she got some work as a mason. But most commonly she has had to return to operating as a helper. She now demands that the concerned government government must come to the rescue of ladies like her, who're attempting laborious to problem stereotypes, and create jobs for them.
Meena, the ‘raj mistry’, sets new standards
![Meena, the ‘raj mistry’, sets new standards]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
March 08, 2018
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