A large number of saleswomen in Kerala are scared to gulp a glass of water during their duty hours. The reason, the shops they work at do not provide them with toilet facilities. Many of them even become victims of urinary diseases. These women are also deprived of a seat to sit at their workplace as they have to stand up before their customers.
The ‘macho’ trade unions in Kerala, however, overlooked this for years. In 2009, a woman among these hapless labourers floated an organization ‘Penkoottu’ (Women nest) at Kozhikode and it organised “struggle for a facility to urinate” (Moothrapura samaram) and “struggle to sit (Irikkal samaram).
Moothrapura samaram and Irikkal samaram were a first-of-its-kind in the history of Kerala. The 9-year old fight of Penkoottu has now resulted in Kerala government amending the Shop and Commercial Establishment Act in July this year, ensuring that a shop must have toilet and seating facility for its staff.
The leader of ‘Penkoottu’, 50-year-old Viji P from Kozhikode, has now been selected by the BBC as one among the 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world.
Viji used to work as a tailor in a shop at S.M Street in Kozhikode and one day she was taken aback by the long queue of women staff in the street for urinating. “There was a toilet in my building. But I came to know that there are many shops which do not have toilets. The women in the queue were crying while explaining their plight. If they demanded toilet, the owner would ask them not to come from the next day. The mainstream trade unions were apathetic towards the unorganized women,” recalls Viji.