Kerala: All-women train maintenance team in Thiruvananthapuram break stereotypes

A group of women in Kerala is managing the maintenance of Vanchinad Express at Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway station for the last three years.

The women have been maintaining every part of a train for the last three years. Expressing joy and happiness, a woman worker said, "We are maintaining this train happily and confidently for the last three years. We examine almost every part of the train to ensure that they are fine." 

READ | International Women’s Day 2020: Female auto-drivers shattering gender barriers

Vanchinad Express is an intercity express train running between Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. 

The women start their by work by morning and can complete it by evening. Vanchinad Express departs at 5:45 pm. The team consists of seventeen women who are not technically equipped but have learned each intricacy of every task. The women are educated, some of them even post-graduates. 

READ | 'Equal love': Odisha's sand artist creates artwork to mark International Women's Day

The woman worker added, "The staff is not technically qualified but they have learned every task. They are all graduates and post-graduates. In this century nothing is impossible for women, they are working in every field."

READ | International Women's Day: PM Modi's MUDRA scheme helps Ludhiana woman become entrepreneur

Change Collectively:

The International Women's Day is observed every year on March 8 in a bid to celebrate the women's movement and struggle for equality. This year the day is celebrated in the wake of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which is termed by UN Women as the 'most visionary agenda for women's rights and empowerment everywhere'.

According to UN Women, the theme for this year is 'I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights'. 

A statement on the official website of UN Women read, “From the Liberian women’s sex strike paving the way for peace to the Icelandic “Women’s Day Off” demanding economic equality to the global impact of the #MeToo movement, history has taught us that change can happen through collective activism”.

READ | Single father who adopted child with Down Syndrome given 'Best Mommy Award' on Women's Day