Normalia carrying out maintenance work at the top of PETRONAS Twin Towers. — Photos: KAMARUL ARIFFIN/ The Star and courtesy of NORMALIA SIDEK and MARINI MOHAMMAD
IN THE past, most mothers were homemakers, taking on the role of caring for the children and ensuring the household was in order.
As more women have entered the workforce now, they are juggling additional responsibilities alongside motherhood.
StarMetro speaks to three women who are holding challenging and unconventional jobs while being doting mothers.
Their reason for choosing such jobs as a career is to support their families and be role models for their children.
Going to great heights
Normalia Sidek, 33, mother of a two-year-old, is a rope access technician.
Normalia wishes to use her skills to help her husband provide a better future for their family.She has international certification by the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA), which is a globally recognised qualification for rope access technicians.
Her role consists of maintaining the exterior of buildings, including changing pipes and windows, painting and installing lights at tall buildings.
Her role was acknowledged when former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad spotted her when she was strapped to a harness at the peak of PETRONAS Twin Towers while he was inside the building.
Impressed with her courage and enthusiasm, Dr Mahathir thanked her for her contribution in a short video that went viral last year.
Normalia is from Negri Sembilan and is the youngest among five siblings.
Her interest in pursuing a career in the non-conventional field for women, began with her passion in wall climbing.
“When I was in my mid-20s, I did wall climbing in Putrajaya. I enjoyed the activity. I was motivated and inspired to look for a well-paid job based on my passion.
“I was first trained in-house by a company I was attached with for six months. Later I enrolled for the IRATA qualification for better work prospects.
Zubaidah (right) finds driving the three-tonne rubbish truck easy and safe.
“I also met my husband in the same field as me. I am blessed because my family, including my husband, has been very supportive of my career in this field,” she said.
However, it is not all a bed of roses for Normalia because her job requires her to be away from her child for weeks at times.
She is currently in Sarawak for a job with PETRONAS while her son is taken care of by her in-laws in Kedah.
When she is on a break, she spends time with her son in Kedah.
“It is a struggle to be a working mother, more so as my son is away from me a lot.
“I do get criticised for being away from my child, even from random strangers. Some would say they can’t be away from their child even for a day. I am no different but I have long-term plans for my son,” said Normalia.
“I want to be able to use my skills to earn a good living and save up for the future,” she said, highlighting that she aimed to give him the opportunities she did not have when growing up.
“I want to be able to provide him with good education and extracurricular activities that will enrich his experience and knowledge.
Marini (right) says her job as a health inspector is challenging as she has to deal with stressful situations.
“As someone who grew up poor, I know the importance of financial stability. I want to help my husband secure a good future for us as a family,” she added.
Being active on social media, Normalia has posted photos of her at work and her followers have grown, but not without some negative comments.
“In the past only those who knew me followed me on social media, but now I have many strangers too. With that comes awkward comments.
“Some see me as trying to take on the male role while some question my role as a mother,” she lamented.
Now that she has checked her wish list to climb PETRONAS Twin Towers, Normalia hopes to earn more through her skills to make a better life for her family.
“I am looking forward to working in other countries,” she said.
Driven by love, duty
Driving a three-tonne rubbish truck may not be the dream job of many but it is for Zubaidah Riduan, 48.
Marini (third from right) has to juggle her enforcement job while handling her household comprising her husband and six children.
The single mother, who has a 12-year-old son, was motivated to drive the truck due to the work hours and attractive income.
“Before I had my son, I was a taxi driver but the income wasn’t stable. One day as I was driving my taxi, I saw the rubbish truck and was suddenly inspired to drive it.
“I approached the company expressing my interest to be a driver. I was trained and since then I have been in this field,” said Zubaidah.
She later joined KDEB Waste Manage-ment team and started driving the three-tonne lorry.
“When I am on the road, other motorists have given me a second look when they realised a woman is behind the wheel,” she said, adding that she took pride in her job.
Zubaidah said some people used to call her a superwoman for driving a construction waste truck prior to joining KDEB, but admitted that driving the KDEB truck was much safer.
Zubaidah finds her job hours suitable as it gives her time to spend with her son.
“I have been with KDEB for eight years and I enjoy this job,” said Zubaidah, who lives with her son and sister.
Her work hours are from 7am to 3pm. She finds the work hours suited to her life as a single mother, compared to driving a taxi.
As for motherhood, she feels blessed to have her son and finds that every day feels like Mothers Day with him.
She is able to be more present in her son’s life and is glad that no one judged her choice of occupation.
In fact, Zubaidah, who lives in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, said her son was proud of her.
“Since young, my son would pluck flowers and present them to me. He will always hug me and say he loves me.
“I feel blessed to be his mother and I want to continue to be able to provide for him,” she said.
Zubaidah ensures her family gets home-cooked food every day, even if she is unwell.
Every year she plans one holiday with her son, and they love the beach.
Public health, private sacrifices
It is not often that people get threatened with a parang in their course of work.
This, however, is not unusual for Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) health inspector Marini Mohammad.
The 42-year-old inspects restaurants for cleanliness and has faced situations when tempers were high between restaurant owners and health inspectors.
“We work closely with the police, so matters related to safety are well taken care of, but there is always a risk.
“We cannot predict how an angry person will react, and we have seen many incidents of authorities being attacked when carrying out their duty,” said Marini.
The work hours require her to be away from her six children, from the wee hours of the morning.
“I am on duty for operations sometimes at 4am. It is the best time to inspect 24-hour restaurants that are supposed to close from 4am to 5am to clean up the premises,” she said.
“Sometimes I have an advantage being a woman because restaurant owners I reprimand seem to be more calm compared to those reprimanded by the male officers.”
Marini became a widow with two children in her early 20s when her first husband was killed in an accident.
As a young widow, she had a day-time job and put herself through college attending night classes.
She later remarried, to a widowed policeman Sulaimen Razak who is a father of two.
As the couple also have two children together, they are now a family of eight.
“I got married after Form Five and had two children. I only had Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and I worked as a clinic assistant when my first husband died. My mother took care of my children when I studied part-time.
“I kept only RM100 for myself every month and gave the rest of my earnings to my mother for my children’s expenses,” she said, adding that her two children were later sent to residential school when her mother died.
“I treat my stepchildren the same, because I am their only mother. My husband understands my job because he too is a civil servant,” said Marini who cooks all meals for her family.
Marini ensures that her children only watch television on weekends and are trained to do chores.
She also wants the children, aged between nine and 20, to have a balanced meal that is hygienically prepared.
“I cook all meals even if it is just a simple meal consisting of eggs, rice and kicap (soy sauce) because I want them to eat clean food.
“No matter what time I come back home, I still prepare their breakfast, lunch and dinner. I even pack their school snacks,” she added.
Despite being a busy mother, Marini would always check on her children’s education, including their religious practices.
She is also active in community work besides providing free tuition classes to children of policemen, as her husband is a member of the policemen’s family association.
