Thiruvananthapuram (EMS). Women working in liquor shops in the country is still considered a social taboo. Kerala is an exception to this. According to the state government liquor marketing company Kerala Beverage Corporation Bevco, now about 50 percent of its employees are women. Let us tell you that Kerala is probably the first state in the country where so many women employees are working in liquor shops. Here it is seen as a job like any other government job.
Leena, who has been working at a Bevco shop in Thiruvananthapuram for the past two years, said that initially I was very nervous because we considered it difficult. After working for 6 months, I started liking it. We hardly face any difficulties. Let us also tell you that the families of many women employees were initially apprehensive about their working in a liquor shop. These were the women who had approached the court to work in Bevco.
The managing director of KSBC says that 10 years ago women went to court and got their right to work in Bevco. Earlier, women were not recruited to work in liquor shops. The court had directed the government to recruit women. She said that now the share of women in our workforce is more than 50 percent. She said that initially it was difficult for women to work in Bevco shops. With the passage of time, women found that it was safe to work in those shops. They hardly faced any difficulty. Harshita Attaluri said that if any complaint of customer misbehavior comes to light, then we and the police take action.
Another woman employee working in the liquor shop said that our only problem is that the working hours are long. However, every profession has its own challenges. We found that most of the customers are friendly and cooperative. Let us tell you that Bevco employees have to work from 10 am to 9 pm and get leave only on dry days declared by the government.