About 12 kilometres away from the Lucknow headquarters, the train passes 40 times in 12 hours at the Malhaur railway crossing. Because it is a manual crossing, a gateman is responsible to close the gate and allow the train to pass through. The gateman's work includes rotating the heavy iron wheel for opening the gate. In Lucknow, at the Malhaur railway crossing, this job is done by 29-year-old Mirza Salma Baig for the past 10 years. Salma became India's first Railway gatewoman in 2013.
It was the challenges in life that pushed Salma to this life path that she proudly leads now. When life happened, Salma, instead of giving up, worked and established herself as a Gatewoman and proved that there is nothing women can't do.
For the unversed, Salma's father used to work as a gateman but due to a lack of physical fitness and some diseases, he had to leave the job. Salma was just 19 years old at that time. Salma, to support her family, then told her father that she would give the exam and become a gatewoman herself.
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Salma's father encouraged her, relatives did not support
Salma passed the test but the railway department staff were surprised to see her. At the same time, her relatives started protesting too as Salman belonged to a conservative Muslim family. But during this trying time, Salma's father supported her after which she completed one-month gateman training. When the people of the railway department saw a young girl wearing a hijab doing training for a gateman, they used to taunt her saying that she will leave the job in four days. However, Salma said, "My father not only encouraged me by saying that you can open the gate but also kept coming with me on duty for a month until I became completely used to this work."
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Salma Baig's story is an inspiration
Salma has been working as a gatewoman for 10 years now. She joined in 2013. A gateman's work is for 12 hours where the heavy gate has to be opened by turning the wheel. Salma says that while opening and closing the gate, one has to keep in mind that no one gets hurt.
Salma says that now people's thinking has changed regarding her work. The entire railway staff also cooperates and people not only praise her work, but many people passing through the crossing even take selfies with her.
Salma says that it took her two years to get married as her fiance did not like her working as a gatewoman. However, she stood firm and clarified that she will not give up her job. Salma says that now even her husband understands her work. Salma, who is now a mother of a one-year-old son, says that she never wants to leave this field of work.
