{"id":2835,"date":"2024-05-10T12:37:34","date_gmt":"2024-05-10T12:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/?p=2835"},"modified":"2024-05-10T12:37:34","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T12:37:34","slug":"wheels-of-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wheels-of-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Wheels of change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adversity pushed her to seek work at a two-wheeler repair garage in Socorro. But today, woman mechanic Shabeena Shaikh is a testament to the power of determination and resilience<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Fernandes | NT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Picture Credit: Hemant Parab<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When we go to get our bike repaired or serviced, we automatically assume the mechanic will be a man. It is not often; in fact one can safely say it is rare to see a woman mechanic. But breaking these stereotypes is 37-year-old Shabeena Shaikh who works at a two-wheeler repair garage in Socorro.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInitially, I was met with a lot of surprise, stares, doubt and prejudice. But now the people around as well as regular customers are very comfortable and do not find it out of the ordinary,\u201d says Shaikh.<\/span><\/p>\n

A career as a mechanic was not something Shaikh had planned. In fact, she never thought she would work outside the home. But destiny had other plans. Due to paucity of funds and her father\u2019s prolonged illness and eventual death, she could not pursue her education after class 10. While still a teenager, she was married off as her mother could not provide for her two children. However, tragedy struck again with her husband passing away in an accident, within a couple of years.<\/span><\/p>\n

A young mother and now a widow, she had no option but to return to her mother\u2019s home. \u201cThe situation at home was difficult even before I was married, so with an additional person, I had no choice but to seek employment to make ends meet,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Luckily for her, Ayub Motiwala had just opened his garage and offered her a position at the counter as a receptionist and cashier. \u201cI was always keen to learn and coincidentally the boys who were hired at the garage would often not turn up for work or turn up drunk and eventually quit one after the other. Pushed into the deep end, we had to survive and by then I had learned the job,\u201d she recollects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over time, she progressed from handling basic repair tasks to managing general servicing. On a typical day, her tasks include changing oil and cables, fixing punctures, tightening chains, handling bike starting problems, and other general two-wheeler servicing. Her forte is Activa and Dio bikes and she proudly says, \u201cI have worked on these for at least 12 years now and hence know them inside out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The journey which began in 2007 has been tough for Shaikh. Coming from a conservative Muslim family, her job in the garage was frowned upon initially. \u201cThere were many who said different things especially since I was interacting mostly with men. But I knew what my circumstances and duties were and I did my best to turn a deaf ear to their criticism,\u201d she says. Her determination and resilience paid off and soon not only did the censure end but she was even admired by the same disapprovers.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the initial years, she also had to face a lot of doubt and prejudice from customers who did not believe she would do a good job with their bikes. \u201cHowever, after I had completed the work on their bikes, they realised I was capable. I have always believed we should allow our work to speak for us rather than waste time and energy trying to convince people of our abilities,\u201d she says. Courage, patience and encouragement from the right quarters, she adds, are crucial to move ahead or it can get overwhelming and difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ability to adjust is another quality that helped Shaikh stay on her path. \u201cThe work is sometimes physically demanding. Ayub helps but it can get exhausting,\u201d he says. \u201cIn addition, when my mother suffered from falciparum malaria, I had to bring my little boy to work. Today, he is 18 years old and studying at ITI to be a certified plumber. In the end, it has all been worth it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Adversity pushed her to seek work at a two-wheeler repair garage in Socorro. But today, woman mechanic Shabeena Shaikh is a testament to the power of determination and resilience Maria Fernandes | NT Picture Credit: Hemant Parab When we go to get our bike repaired or serviced, we automatically assume the mechanic will be a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aspire-inspire","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2835"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2839,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2835\/revisions\/2839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navhindtimes.in\/kuriocity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}