The Keeper

Having won a record by becoming the world's first female bouncer, Mehrunissa Ali is breaking stereotypes of what a woman can and cannot do

- Avantika Mehta

EVERY evening, before going to work in a nearby nightclub in Delhi, Mehrunissa Shaukat Ali splashes thick black eyeliner across her lids like war paint. She wanted to be an army officer, but her father objected. “I should have insisted, like I insisted that I will be a bouncer,” she says.

Ali is India's first woman bouncer, holding an India Book of Records award. She considers herself lucky to be able to work in a job she loves, giving credit to her mother who supported her choice to become a bouncer. “Women can do anything they dream about, but it is hard for them to achieve their dreams without parental support, or without the support of even one parent. Their support is important so that you don't feel isolated and alone,” she says.