Meet The Butcher Girl From Tamil Nadu

Residents of Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, witness a rare sight in the market on Sunday mornings. A college girl working as a  butcher and selling meat just like her father.

We often mumble the words: all jobs are equal, but do we actually believe in it? C Shanmugapriya (20), a third-year student of the Government Arts College for Women, Tirupur, is doing something one seldom finds women doing. The meat-chopping girl is breaking stereotypes to support her family.

Shanmugapriya sells meat every Sunday in her father Chinnasamy's butcher shop

One might wonder what exactly led the young college student to take up a job that is traditionally considered men’s work.

Women can do anything

Shanmugapriya says, “My father has been selling meat for many years. My younger brother is also in the profession. I started working with father to help him. Now, I have been doing this work for two years,” The New Indian Express reported.

No matter how much we value the work you’re involved in, there will be certain challenges in every step. Shanmugapriya, too, found it hard initially. But she became good at her job soon after

“I found it difficult in the beginning. In fact, I even stopped eating non-vegetarian food after I began this work. But now I am used to it. And anyway, I should help my father. The work also supports my education,” she said.

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Why she took up the job

To help her 62-year-old father, Shanmugapriya showed an aptitude for managerial responsibility at such a young age. Since the financial responsibility rests on his shoulders, Shanmugapriya decided to chip in. “When some people in our community wanted my parents to marry me off, and did not want me study further, my father supported me and sent me to college. I want to do postgraduation and get into teaching,” she said.

"Why should I not allow my daughter to cut meat?" - Chinnasamy

While many denounce her work, all her friends praise her strength and willpower to take up the work so efficiently. “What is the shame in it?” she asks. “In fact, all of them say that I’m doing a good thing. No work is low or without dignity as long as we listen to our conscience,” she said.

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A feminist father

Chinnasamy has been selling meat for 40 years. “My father followed the traditional profession. I entered the meat business. And I taught it to my daughter. Many people ask me, ‘Why do you let a girl sell meat?’ My answer is, ‘No work is without dignity or value."

"Why should I not allow my daughter to cut meat, which we have been doing for many years? She is doing a good job. Her work also supports her education,” he said.

We salute Shanmugapriya!

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Feature Image Credit: Indian Express

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