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.