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'Rubbing Salt on Wounds': Indian Railway Faces Flak for Hailing Women Porters Carrying Luggage

New Delhi (Sputnik): With International Women’s Day approaching, Indian Railways has shared pictures of women porters – popularly known as coolies in India – to cheer up the spirits of women in a male-dominated job.
Sputnik

The pictures shared by Indian Railways to show appreciation for female porters seems to have fallen flat on their face after politicians, activists, and journalist slammed the railway for “celebrating the exploitation of women”.

The tweet aimed to promote an initiative by the Ministry of Railways, showed women porters carrying luggage and drawing loaded carts with a caption "lady coolies" who have "proved that they are second to none".

Former UN Diplomat and current parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor along with senior Indian columnist-activist Dilip C. Mandal slammed the government for boasting about the exploitation of women rather than installing trolleys and ramps at all platforms.

Amid heavy criticism, the post found appreciation from Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan who called them “Coolie No.1”. But apparently it seemed to be a promotional exercise for his upcoming 2020 film titled “Coolie No. 1”.

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