Kolkata: PG-qualified women among 8,000 applicants for 6 ‘dom’ posts – Times of India

KOLKATA: Bandana Mistry is a postgraduate in Bengali literature, Swarnali Samanta is a history graduate, while Sikha Sinha is a graduate in political science. Their subjects of study in higher education might differ, but what’s common to them is their desperation to get a “secure job”. On Sunday, the three young women were among 300 final-round applicants for six posts of laboratory assistants, called ‘doms’ in local parlance. An overwhelmingly male-dominated profession, the job requires one to handle corpses at a city medical college and hospital — at a salary of Rs 15,000 a month.
Covid-induced financial insecurity and the lure of a permanent government job drew an unusually high number of women applicants — there were 50 women who appeared for a written test — for the post of six doms at NRS Medical College Hospital’s Forensic Medicine and Toxicology department.
More than 8,000 applications were received for the post, which included nearly 500 postgraduates, 2,200 graduates and another 100 engineers. As many as 784 of them, including 84 women, were shortlisted for the written test. Around 300 of them appeared for the exam on Sunday.
Rajarhat resident Sikha (32), whose husband, a security guard, lost his job earlier during the pandemic, is desperate for a job, any job. “When the employer is not discriminating between men and women while inviting applications and selecting candidates for the written exam, why would I have any inhibitions? A job is a job. I desperately need a job now, and believe I am capable of working alongside men,” she said.
Bandana (23), a resident of Habra, dreams of teaching. But it was the promise of a government job that made her overlook its profile. “I don’t care about my qualifications. I need a job for my family. Hence, I have put on hold my ambition of teaching students and am trying my luck for this government job at this moment. If I succeed, I know I have the mental strength to overcome the challenges associated with the job,” she said.
Banita Mondal, (22), an HS passout, says the notification, published in December last year, had sought applications from Class VIII passouts within the age range of 18 to 40. “The entry of so many highly qualified persons has made the task difficult for us,” said Banita, who works at a pathological clinic as a lab assistant in Bamangachi. “But I am ready to break into the male bastion if I get a chance.”
Indira Dey, the medical superintendent and vice-principal (MSVP), said she was surprised with the large number of women appearing for the post. “Many of the applicants are overqualified, but that will not influence the selection criteria. We will however give preference to those with experience in the job, and try to announce the results in less than two months,” she said, adding that the rush of overqualified candidates was probably due to the “security element” of a government job.
The hospital now has four doms, including a woman. “Our hospital also has the only female dom in the city and we know how to make the place and the job comfortable for them,” Dey said.