When the glass ceiling is being broken everywhere, should the drinking glass be a ceiling? Sound incredible but the Supreme Court of India has just concluded hearing arguments on whether women should be “permitted” to serve as bartenders in bars, hotels and restaurants in New Delhi.
In January 2006, acting on a petition filed by the Hotel Association of India, the Delhi High Court had quashed Section 30 of the Punjab Excise Act, which barred the employment of women in places where liquor is served. But the Delhi government had approached the Supreme Court stating that the decision to bar women was “meant to ensure safety and dignity of women as well as of young men of impressionable age group”.
Questions: The Jessica Lal case is still fresh in memory, of course, but should women be barred from serving as bartenders? And who should decided that, men or women? Is “safety and dignity” just a figleaf for male chauvinism if not outright sexism? Or is the sight of women serving alcohol an affront to “Indian culture”? Is a woman not free to choose her calling in the 21st century? And is the government not duty-bound to provide the safety that women need at the workplace instead of shutting doors?
churumuri 
Yes, women should be allowed to chose the profession/job they like. There should be no discrimination at all. It is duty-bound for the government/the organisation/establishment to protect them on job.
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If women are allowed to serve as bartenders it may give an additional kick to the boozers. In tune with the time-honoured saying “the giver adds value to the gift”, the woman bartender adds kick to the kick. In the process she is likely to effect a saving for the boozers because they need not gulp larger doses to get intoxicated. Nevertheless the bar/government should beef up better safety arrangements for the woman bartenders.
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There are women bar tenders in Mumbai. A news paper had featured some of them a few months ago. If you can have women pilots, women Autorickshaw drivers, women brewers(Kiran Mazumdar Shaw), women waitresses etc., why not women bar tenders? The government and the establishments are both duty bound to protect them against trouble makers.
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It is a matter of individual experience that the stuff served by women bar tender adds an additional kick to the drink served to the customer but some arrangement is a must to kick out the customer from the bar if he tries to serve his private purpose with the bartending girl which will be a natural out come to be expected in the situation.
In this era of equality a women drinking wine in the company of males at mid night parties is a fashion, then nothing can bar a woman from serving at a bar as it is her bread winning profession
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Not in Bangalore please.
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A job is a job. The moral police and the Government in Maharashtra which could not manage to provide safety for women working late in the evening have mabaged to send the bar dancers to places outside Mumbai, some are starving and some others have entered professions which the wanted to avoid in the first place.
Will banning women bartenders lead to banning women doctors on night shifts, women in the media restricted to 10 to 5 jobs and women police to do only desk jobs?
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Gautam, why leave Bangalore? If it can be done in Calcutta, Cochi or ChikamagaLur it can be done in Bang. Don”t discriminate…It is a concern for the bar people
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What next? A discussion on banning women from drinking?
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Why is India Bharatamata one to day! Many countries that got freedom around the same time as India have disintegrated by now and we are only nation which is intact. This is because they did not respect the women, the mother. What is our strength? This is because of our heritage, culture, harmony of faith, history, respect for Mother and various other reasons. There have been stray cases where other women have been abused by some but when they go home they do respect their female kin and protect them. We have always respected women as we see a mother in them. Let us not expose them to such environment where our mother is down graded and abused by drunkards who do not know as to what they are doing. Just because this is there in some other places let us not bring it to Bangalore and take to other cities. Here our culture will help. Those who favour this, will they allow their mother, wife and sisters take up this job??!!
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Jayshree , your sentiment and concern is understandable. Please do not judge an issue keeping only my or your family members in your mind. There are scores and scores of women who go to bed with out food. There are women who have to look after not only themselves but also dependents like aged parents, invalid spouse and hapless tiny tots with no other means to fall back.
Many people consider our own Bangalore as a holy cow and think bartending woman spoil its sanctity. Wake up to the reality and come out of your self imposed inhibition. Hunger knows the need of food not dignity,respect or decency.
Pragmatic approach is the only solution to the problem. It is to be clearly treated as one of the profession with risk factor. Adequate security can be provided and if any body who is in need of money and bold enough to face the situation can very well take up the job. The best thing to express our solidarity with the woman is not to attach any stigma on them if they choose to take up the profession and accord due respect to her as any other working women.
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Well said vses. You’ve spoken for me too
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Why not ?
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Jayashree’s last sentence says it all!
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Jayashree says:
This is because they did not respect the women, the mother………
There have been stray cases where other women have been abused by some but when they go home they do respect their female kin and protect them. We have always respected women as we see a mother in them.
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Stray cases?? Ever heard of female infanticide?? Ever seen census figures of how the sex-ratio in India is fast deteriorating (even in Urban India)??
A few years down the line, the only women we would see would be our mothers or in history books, as a new generation of women simply will not be there.
Sorry, Jayashree, wrt to treatment of women, Indian culture sucks big time and is the most hypocritical. Go see the movie Mathrubhoomi.
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In the desperation for jobs there will be takers for such positions and no amount of brining all the ‘against our tradition/culture’ arguments will be heeded…
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Many arrack vendors in villages were women. They were making a living by selling arrack and none of the boozers would dare touch them. It is the urban rich and elite who abuse women in places like bars and other places, and not the poor.
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Gouri madam, you are right to a certain extent. There are many women who are experts in brewing illicit liquor too. Witgout their help and active participation illicit liquor enterprise/industry/ cottage industry/ what not could not have survived in the remotest corners of Karnataka and even in Cities. You may check it with the excise or police dept. They may not admit publicly, but in camera they say YES
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You are correct Sathya. I know there are many women who are engaged in brewing illicit liquor and the Excise and Police men in villages are thriving getting their ‘Mamools’ regularly from them.
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Gouri Sathya , it seems as if you approve the illegal trade of illicit liquor. Sorry madam, it can not be accepted . Under no circumstance women should stoop to that level. Here the point of discussion is the entry of woman worker in a domain of male monopoly. Capability of woman is a proven fact beyond any doubt . Definitely woman should have the freedom to take up all the work, a normal law abiding man can do
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Should women be “allowed” to work as bartenders in pubs, bars and restaurants in Delhi, India or not ? They should be given the right to choose whether they want to be bartenders or not ?
It is a matter of the Supreme Court of India presently hearing a law suit regarding women being “permitted” to work as bar tenders in bars, discos, pubs and restaurants in Delhi ( the capital city of India). The Delhi government and Mr. Anuj Garg has asked the Supreme Court of India to restore Section 30 of the Punjab Excise Act, which the Delhi High Court had struck down as unconstitutional last year. It is against fundamental rights allowed by our constitution.
The law suit seeks to restrict women from working as bartenders as in their view, bartending is not a “suitable” profession for women. The reason given being that women working as bartenders would have to face several drunk men ( drunk women were not mentioned even once) on a daily basis in an inebriated state thereby making bartending an dangerous and unsuitable profession. Whatever happened to the right /freedom to choose ones own calling ?
for more see http://www.worrylistener.com
GL
A WorryListener
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No vsesh, I am not supporting illegal trade of illicit liquor by women. I was only citing instances of where women are engaged in this illicit liquor trade too in our villages. Legal bar tending would be far better than allowing our women to indulge in illegal liuqor trade. In fact, I remember a Chinese tourist telling me once, “If it is to save my child, I do not mind even stealing!”
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There is nothing wrong in this. The women bartenders are more courteous that their male counterparts.
I can say this from personal experience I had in bombay :)
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I suppose they can be, if they have the spirit for it. Pouring drinks into glasses is not very strenuous or physically challenging. However, the bar owner has to take adequate steps to ensure the woman bartender’s safety. We don’t want another Jessica Lal murder. Nor do we want another Som Mittal. Also, it may be a good idea to have better lighting in bars, pubs etc. Because it is dark, there is an impression that “other” stuff is going on inside. This may not always be the case.
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