A couple of months ago, 22-year-old Sonika Kanwar was out with friends at Social, in South Delhi’s swish Saket, when a group of men at a nearby table began leering in ways that made them uneasy. “Within 10 minutes, a woman bouncer walked up to the men’s table and said something to them. They left soon after. We hadn’t even called her; she just read the room,” Sonika recalls.

When she went up to thank her, the response was brief and matter-of-fact. “She just said, ‘It’s my duty, ma’am’. But, I felt deeply indebted. She made me feel safe.” It was only later, that Sonika realised who she had encountered: Mehrunnisha Shaukat Ali, widely recognised as India’s first woman bouncer, whose presence commands both authority and respect in a profession long dominated by men.

In a nightlife economy, where women are often left to negotiate discomfort on their own, such interventions underscore the growing role of female bouncers in India as first responders to unease.

In her career spanning over two decades, Mehrunnisha, 40, has handled many such incidents. “I have tackled everything, from drunken women hurling abuse at me to sloshed men making inappropriate passes at women and the infamous name-droppers of Delhi’s well-connected circles trying to enter clubs using social currency,” she says.

Having worked across clubs, hospitals, political rallies and celebrity shows, Mehrunnisha’s passion for her profession is fuelled by a deeper desire to protect and serve. It stems from her childhood dream of joining the police or armed forces.

“My aspirations, like those of most girls from small towns, were caged in the confines of conservative social beliefs. At our home in a small locality of Saharanpur, UP, my father, one of the custodians of this restrictive social system, did not support me. My mother did. And though I missed my chance to join the police or Indian armed forces, I found my way into security,” she says.

She outlines the contrast between security guards and bouncers, a difference she learnt early on. When she first entered the profession, being labelled a “security guard” unsettled her. “My family moved to Delhi, in search of better opportunities after my father’s business suffered a setback. That’s when I began working as a bouncer. A well-built man dressed in black, who first caught my attention, introduced me to the profession. Security guards haath jodte hai aur bouncers haath maraod dete hai (security guards fold hands, while bouncers twist arms),” she says.

Yet, she is careful to define the limits of that force. “We are not goons, and violence is not our first response to a difficult situation — it is the last resort. Our job is to defuse conflict, which can include physically restraining an attacker while the police are called,” she adds.

This is where security service providers step in. While these companies often use an umbrella term for all security personnel, comprising both guards and bouncers, the training for bouncers is distinct, with a specialised syllabus tailored to the demands of the role. Bouncers in India are regulated under the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act, 2005 (PSARA), which mandates that security agencies must be licensed and the security staff must undergo training and background checks.

“We started hiring women bouncers around two years ago because women guests also had to be frisked for drugs, and it wouldn’t be right for male staff to do that. But their role goes beyond frisking — they also step in when women patrons are too drunk to walk, need help getting to their car, or when fights break out between women,” said Zahir Naina, head of operations, at Chennai-based bar Radio Room.

Anubhav Khiwani, founder of Delhi-and-Mumbai-based Denetim Services, explains, “Bouncers are not permitted to harm anyone; their role is to prioritise client safety at all times, and their conduct (body language and behaviour) must remain non-threatening. These principles form the core of their training.”

Denetim, he says, provides security staff to several businesses, including sports-retail store Decathlon, publishing house Penguin Books and luxury vehicle brand Jaguar. “The demand for female bouncers began to pick up around 2016, alongside the rise of luxury events and concerts, particularly for frisking women. We had set up our company in 2014. From there, demand expanded from clubs and bars to smaller private parties at farmhouses, and even court premises during divorce proceedings,” adds Anubhav. While Anubhav’s company started with just three to four female bouncers a decade ago, the numbers have increased. “We now have 10-15 female bouncers who keep working with us, off and on,” he says.

Bouncers can be employed full-time with a company, engaged on customised contracts, or work as freelancers. Pushpa, who has been on Denetim Services’s payroll for the past six years, is stationed at Decathlon, where she works eight-hour shifts and monitors shrinkage (inventory loss). “One has to stay constantly alert. It’s taxing, both mentally and physically,” she says. “For a regular shift, I earn around ₹25,000 a month. But at events, where we’re paid by the hour, I can make more.” She adds that logistics vary. “There’s no transport provided for day shifts, but night shifts usually include it. At events, sometimes the client covers travel; other times, the company shares the cost. Food is generally taken care of.”

What Pushpa now assumes as a norm — the food, transport and even eight-hour shifts — didn’t come that easy for Mehrunnisha. Just three years into her career, she was already wrestling the petty biases meted out to female bouncers. “I still remember an event in 2006 where women bouncers were not even given water, while the men were served chicken korma. I refused to eat in protest. When the company head came to know about it, he stepped in and ensured we were given food and water,” she says. “We would clock a gruelling 13-hour shift for a mere ₹200–₹300 and travel expenses too came from our own pockets. As for training, I would run or book a session at a small gym whenever I could afford it,” she adds.

Since 2020, Mehrunnisha has been running a security service company that she has now renamed from Mardani Bouncer & Dolphin Security to India First Lady Bouncer Security. She continues to work at Social, earning ₹22,000 a month, while also freelancing at events across North India. “I earn enough, but money is not my only motivation,” she says. “What truly matters is when women come up to thank me for helping them get home safely.”

That sentiment, she adds, has found a quiet echo in Sonika’s experience. “She is now a regular at Social,” Mehrunnisha says. “She often messages me before coming and asks, ‘Didi, aap hogi na wahan?’ That trust of someone feeling safer just knowing you’re there is priceless.”

She hopes to encourage more women to take up the profession, and it looks like she is having an impact already. “I have about 2,000 CVs sitting on my table,” she says, adding “I want to create opportunities for all of them.”