Pictures of a young woman hanging in the air and cleaning windows of a Tehran skyscraper have been doing the rounds in social media. Some commented that economic constraints should not force a woman into such “high-challenging” jobs, calling skyscraper window cleaning a “job for men.”
In an interview in Haft-e-Sobh newspaper, Tina Hajiha says the rope access job is her hobby, and “fulfills her enthusiasm for heights and excitement.”
She said articles which described her “as the only female rope access technician in Iran, were not correct for the reason why I am in this business.” The tone of the articles created “an unnecessary sense of pity, while I picked up this adventurous job for its technical and sporting challenges.”
Hajiha works in a private business group whose services also include lighting, painting, and any rope access repair and maintenance services such as rawlplug and screws in damaged buildings, or installing thunder arrestors.
When asked if she has encountered similar expressions of pity and awe in her interactions, she notes that people react with surprise but there “is no pity when they realize that I am satisfied; they understand and accept my profession with sincere delight.”
A rock climber, Hajiha has a certificate from the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA) which qualifies her for vocational and training jobs at heights, in addition to certificates in mountain and earthquake rescue operations.
IRATA is the sole global trade association in the work-at-height sector with member companies in every continent. It was formed in the UK in the late 1980s, to solve maintenance problems in the offshore oil and gas industry. IRATA is now recognized as the world’s leading authority on industrial rope access. It has over 350 member companies around the world and has trained in excess of the 74,000 rope access technicians worldwide.
