Meet Shafain Ansari (29) aka Ayesha, who has not only broken the proverbial glass ceiling by venturing into the male dominated industry, but has infact carved a niche for herself through her bravery and courage. The 5’4” tall, with a well built body and the mother of two teen sons, Shafain is a woman bouncer in one of the Navi Mumbai’s well known hangout pub. Her job is to ensure that no arms or weapons enter inside the lounge, protect women from sexual violence, and escort tipsy women back to safety.Shafain joined the pub a couple of months back after one of her distant relatives, who is also a bouncer, introduced her to the owner of the pub, who was looking out for a female bouncer. Since the first day of her job till date, Shafain is the much-talked about person in the pub, as she is the only female bouncer there. “I feel very proud that I am a bouncer and I stand tall amongst my male colleagues,” says Shafain with a bright smile.
Although Shasain has no formal training in self-defense or any personal experience as a bouncer, she is a tough lady and the reason for this, she says, has been the ordeal she faced during her childhood and especially after her marriage.
“The growing-up days were tough as we are four sisters. With no other support, we had to face a lot of financial problems. I had to leave my education post 5th standard, thus taking any kind of formal training in self-defense was out of question. Unfortunately, we still live in a world in which a significant fraction of people, believe that a woman belongs and wants to belong exclusively in the home,” reminisces Shafain.
Despite opposition, Shafain was married at a very young age. “I think I was just 12 or 13 years old when I got married. Right from day one I faced domestic violence. When it became too difficult for me to bear it anymore, I left my husband and walked away with my two sons to my parents house,” she recalls with moist eyes.
“Although, I was completely broken from inside, I stood firm. I had to support my children by taking up a dignified job. I firmly believe that we must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained,” says Shafain.
“Life had been tough for me right from childhood. Since a very young age, I have seen lots of hardship, which has toughened me a lot. I live in one of the worst slums of Mumbai and everyday I had to safe guard myself. This in itself taught me self-defense better than what I would have learnt elsewhere,” says Shafain with a smile.
Talking about her profession, Shafain says, “Generally people have a misconception that a bouncer means ‘gunda’ and he or she will only hit. However, this is not true. We ensure that there no untoward incidents happen in our pub. We see that our guests come to the pub, enjoy and leave peacefully. If ever something happens we try to tackle in a peaceful manner by avoiding violence,” she informs.
Shafain did face criticism from various quarters, but that did not deter her from taking up this job. “My children are extremely happy with my profession and my mother, though was skeptical initially, supports me immensely now,” she adds.
“I firmly believe that we should not limit ourselves because of others’ limited imagination. Everything is within your power, and your power is within you,” says Shafain with confidence.
