By Ila Ananya
When was the last time you saw a woman working in a bar?
Kerala, it seems, is looking to amend its rules to start allowing women to work in bars, beer and wine parlours, and outlets under the Kerala State Beverages Corporation Limited (Bevco) in the state. It’s a big jump from the old rules: Times of India reports that the state excise department is essentially trying to amend the Kerala abkari shops disposal rules 2002 and the foreign liquor rules 1953, which restrict women from being employed in bars.
It’s supposed to be a move to provide employment opportunities for women, and will be passed once the state excise department sends it to the government for ratification soon.
Of course some reports, like Asianet News is worried that the move, if passed, will not be ‘ideal’ for Kerala because of the possibility of a growth in crimes against women. “To have women serving liquor at retail outlets or waiting tables in wine and beer parlours under such circumstances might not the perfect call,” they have written. This only shows the most obvious problem — it’s only too convenient to deny women opportunities to work instead of dealing with problems like safety while they work.
It’s similar to the debate that’s been happening in Karnataka about whether women should or shouldn’t be allowed to work night shifts — they claimed it was in the interest of ‘women’s safety’ and ‘privacy needs’. Basically it means that they have no interest in actually dealing with problems women might face at work, and Asianet News’ worry only indicates the same hesitation. We’ve also seen time and again that sexual harassment isn’t only restricted to night shifts. And the difficulty can also come in in various places, perhaps from travelling to and from work, and there’s also no reason to assume that industries that have predominantly women workers (like women working in garment factories) don’t have any problems–in fact, it is quite the opposite, we’ve seen this in the large number of cases of sexual harassment against garment workers everywhere.
Although far away from home, perhaps everyone will do well to see this Tweet by Beer Cellar Exeter, telling dudes to please stop trying to kiss their female bartender’s hands. It’s all too clear the blame needs to be on the people making workspaces unsafe and uncomfortable for women. That’s the way it works, rather than just stopping women from working.
https://twitter.com/BeerCellarExe/status/867683766042546177