New Delhi, India – Lubna Aamir, 28, is a dentist by training. But practising her profession remains a dream for her.
After studying dentistry and a few years of practice at a government college in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, Aamir wanted a better position.
In 2018, the Pune resident started applying for a job at clinics across India through email. She even dropped resumes in person at some clinics.
“I wanted to branch out to what we call the class practice and have an experience beyond local circles,” Aamir told Al Jazeera.
She applied for jobs at nearly two dozen places but there was no response “despite having very good credentials”.
“I had scored excellent grades and had an internship from a government college which is much sought after in the dental industry. My work profile was good. Still, I was not getting any response,” she told Al Jazeera.
Muslims make up nearly 14 percent of India’s 1.35 billion population but do not have the same representation in government or private sector jobs. Multiple government-appointed commissions have found the community is at the bottom among India’s social groups in terms of education and employment.
One of those commissions, headed by now retired Justice Rajinder Sachar, found in 2006 that India’s Muslims were disadvantaged in social, economic and educational terms. Less than 8 percent of them were employed in the formal sector compared with the national average of 21 percent, the commission said in its report.
This story was originally published in aljazeera.com . Read the full story here