Dressed in her brother’s clothes and driving a rickshaw loaded with bicycles, Rani Bibi says she would rather work hard than beg
In her brother’s shalwar kameez and with her hair cut in a masculine style, a Karachi woman has adopted a masculine appearance that allows her to work and earn money for her family.
Rani Bibi (not her real name) even speaks less so that people perceive her as a man.
Despite living in Khuda Ki Basti in Surjani town, Rani drives a cycle rickshaw every day for two hours, reaching Liaquatabad with her specially-abled brother.
There, she parks her vehicle near the market and delivers goods there. If the load is light, she says, she will pedal the rickshaw. If the load is heavier, she pulls it manually.
Sometimes, Rani gets two or more jobs a day, which helps her earn 800 rupees or more.
Living in a rented house with her disabled brother, her widowed sister and her sister’s two children, Rani is the sole breadwinner of her family. Uneducated, she says she also doesn’t know any specific skills and hence bought her bike-loading rickshaw for Rs 10,000 after saving up.
Her delivery of goods to Liaquatabad sometimes allows her family to eat once or twice a day, she says. Even if sometimes the family goes to bed hungry.
When asked why, as a woman, she adopted a masculine appearance, Rani replied that in this society, if a woman has no skills, earning a salary becomes very difficult and hence she adopted a masculine appearance out of necessity.
Rani says her brother was driving the rickshaw, but he met with an accident and injured his leg, which left him unable to work. Now, as he does not know how to drive the rickshaw, he accompanies his sister.
Rani adds that there is more dignity to be gained by working hard than by begging. Stating that no woman becomes a man by choice, she claims that social problems and hunger lead to a change in appearance.
“I am a woman, and if I wear men’s clothes and have changed my appearance for work, there is a blessing in earning a legal livelihood. I do not beg from anyone or appeal for help. Pray for me that I earn my living through hard work,” she says.
Rani advises helpless women, “In case of necessity, instead of going in the wrong direction or seeking help, turn to the path of hard work. You will earn your livelihood and your difficulties will become easier.”
