Ministry of Railways on Wednesday posted a tweet which showed several pictures of women coolies. In their tweet they mentioned how proud they are of these women and how they are ‘second to none’.
Working for Indian Railways, these lady coolies have proved that they are second to none !!
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) March 4, 2020
We salute them !! pic.twitter.com/UDoGATVwUZ
But this post didn’t resonate well with twitter. Netizens mentioned how even though it is 2020, this practice is inhumane, no matter the gender of the person.
This is a disgrace. But instead of being ashamed of this primitive practice, our @RailMinIndia is proudly boasting of this exploitation of poor women to carry heavy head loads?! https://t.co/qPvqjBfarw
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 4, 2020
You are promoting occupational health hazards and glorifying it on helpless hard working women of this country.
— Arjun (@comradarjun) March 4, 2020
As much as we are proud of women taking up jobs traditionally meant only for men, a Coolie's job is inhuman even for the men. You should be creating better employment opportunities for these men and women. https://t.co/yObqUz0I67
— Aryan Srivastava (@aryansrivastav_) March 4, 2020
Poverty porn is not empowerment.
— Sidrah (@SidrahDP) March 4, 2020
Do explore why the need for manual labour despite all ‘scientific & technological’ advances.
Nobody should have to do back-breaking work like this. Carry your own goddamn suitcases. Women are not your trolleys. https://t.co/pf0xlC9vtm
— Radhika Radhakrishnan 🏳️🌈✊🏾 (@so_radhikal) March 4, 2020
Instead of glorifying such harsh working conditions in 2020, you should work towards improving it. Have minimum sense what to do PR around.
— Sourav Ghosh (@AmateurOutrage) March 4, 2020
This is a disgusting tweet. While it attempts to portray that women are equal to men,a host of questions remain unanswered: why are women being forced to work thus, and that too by a government agency? What prevents the Railways from giving them vehicles on which to haul luggage?
— RJ (@nesoron) March 4, 2020
It’s not something to be proud of.
— Indur Chhugani (@IndurChhugani) March 4, 2020
It’s shameful
That ladies are compelled to become coolies, at Railway Station’s.
It could not be a choice,
But
Bcoz these ladies were left with no choice.
No better option, to feed their families.
Sad.
@narendramodi @PiyushGoyal
— Subba Rao🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@yessirtns) March 4, 2020
While I appreciate these ladies for their attitude, sincerity & dedication in carrying out such tasks, its too painful to see them in doing so. I urge the GOVT & the Railway authorities to assign them some other works, which wud be more befitting 🙏🇮🇳
Are you kidding me??… It's 2020 and the state feels good that see now even woman carry others bags for ₹20… You should be ashamed!!
— Avatar_Aang (@the_aang1) March 4, 2020
Next what? Manuel scavenging is dignified labour? Or human rickshaws? Don’t justify inhuman labour which involves carrying luggage over heads. It’s a reflection on where we are as a country that’s struggling to provide truly dignified jobs to the poor. https://t.co/Sp8lNU5BAf
— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) March 4, 2020
Let’s hope this situation changes for the better.
