Kochi: The government has moved to bar women from serving liquor while retaining many as licence-holders of bars.
It happens at a time when students, including girls who undergo hotel management courses, specialise in food as well as beverage services. An excise department official said that the decision was taken following complaints about the increasing trend in this connection.
“Our culture does not permit it and women bartenders may be misused. However, there is no restriction in employing them to serve food and also in other departments. This is also applicable to owning licences,” said Suresh Babu, Assistant Excise Commissioner.
There is an allegation that the Kerala Bar Hotels Association, comprising mainly the 418 ordinary bar hotels which have been ordered to be closed down by the CAG, are behind this move, since they lose business to the star bar hotels where only women bar tenders are employed.
“We are neither for nor against the government decision. We are not behind the government’s move,” said Dhanesh, general secretary of Kerala Bar Hotel Association. However, the star hotel owners are not pleased with the development.
“Metro cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore still allow women bar tenders. The present move will deny women another job opportunity,” said Fino, senior manager of Hotel Dreams in Kochi.
A woman bartender who refused to be named said: “I don’t face any occupational hazard in this job.”
Jose Dominic, MD, CGH Earth Group of Hotels, said: “We are going back to the stone age with this measure. I fear tomorrow the government will bar women from petrol pumps and hotels and finally confine them to their homes.”
Social activist C.R. Neelakantan said that women should not be employed as bartenders. “This job cannot be seen as a move for women empowerment,” he said.
