Kerala government’s claims of gender justice is just posturing

Penkoot, a women’s union, was set up by Viji P in 2009 to fight for the rights of women in the workplace. The feminist movement began in SM street, Kozhikode, Kerala, in response to the denial of the right to sit and the right to use toilets during long work hours (12-14 hours) by saleswomen. ‘Irikkal samaram’ (sitting protest) in which women protested by sitting with chairs on their heads was a success and the Kerala state government had to amend the Shop and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Act in July 2018, to ensure that every shop in the state had a toilet and seating facility for its staff along with minimum wage mandate, an eight-hour shift, lunch and tea breaks. Viji’s efforts were categorically ignored by male-dominated unions and leading political parties which boast of women empowerment in election manifestos. We can see similar patterns of harsh ostracisation suffered by women leaders/activists in Pompilai Orumai led by Gomathi Augustine, when thousands of women came together to challenge the unholy nexus between the state, trade unions and plantation management that exploited daily wage workers.