International Women’s Day: Gender no bar for this 20-year-old fuel station attendant in Ludhiana

BREAKING BARRIERS 20-yr-old Mandeep Kaur dropped out of school to take care of her parents, 2 younger siblings

They say it’s a man’s job. But that didn’t stop 20-year-old Mandeep Kaur from taking up the work of a fuel station attendant.

Mandeep Kaur refilling a vehicle at a petrol pump in Bharat Nagar Chowk, Ludhiana, on Saturday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

“Though attempting any new thing is always a tough task, it took me just three minutes to learn the daily chores of a fuel station attendant,” says Mandeep, who works at a Bharat Petroleum fuel station near Bharat Nagar Chowk.

Mandeep, who lives with her parents and two younger siblings at Detwal village, starts her day by cleaning her house and then reports to work at 9am sharp.

After being asked on what led her to work at the fuel station on one of the busiest intersections of the city, Mandeep said that necessity became a motivation behind her decision of dropping out of school and joining the fuel station to support her family.

“After my father underwent a surgery in 2017 and left his private job, our financial state went from bad to worse. One day when me and my mother went to Laxmi Petrol Pump near Verka milk plant for a refill, my mother spotted an advertisement mentioning that they needed female fuel station workers. At that time I was studying in Government Senior Secondary School, Dakha, but I decided to leave it midway so that I could work and support my family financially,” said Mandeep, who has been working for three years now.

Gets accolades from commuters

Mandeep, who now confidently deals with all the commuters who visit the fuel station for refill, said she often receives appreciation from women as well as men. “Many female officials working at the district administration come here for the refill often appreciate me and encourage me to work hard. While most of the fuel stations in the city have a female attendant now, some people who are travelling from neighbouring states, especially Haryana, find it surprising to see a female fuel station worker,” she said.

On the occasion on International Women’s Day, Mandeep asked the womenfolk to step out of their comfort zone and work to make their dreams come true. “I want to ask every woman to not let the factors such as money, background or society come in the way of living their life to the fullest and become strong and independent,” said Mandeep, who is also learning knitting from her mother.