Viji Penkoottu

Viji Palithodi (P.Viji; born 1968) created the women's union, Asanghaditha Mekhala Thozhilali Union (Union for workers of unorganised sectors) as a part of women's group Penkoottu, in Kerala, India and won basic rights for women working as saleswomen, including the right to sit during working hours. She is part of BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2018.

She fought for the ‘Right to Sit’ for female shop workers particularly in the textile industry as they were made to stand all day in the shop.

Life Viji worked as a volunteer at the National Women's Conference held in 1992 in Kozhikode, where she found her political inspiration and direction in feminism. At the age of 16, Viji started her first job in a tailor's shop. At the time, as part of the motivation towards her future movements, whilst most of the family members in the home worked for money for the family, her father worked and spent money for parties and social events. In the early 2000s, she organized meetings where women would compare salaries and working conditions at the biggest commercial area in Kozhikode, Mittayitheru. At the time some were not allowed to drink water during summers, and others not able to go to the bathroom. Even if there were no customers in the store, women would be paid less if they were caught sitting down on the security cameras.

Viji also pushes for the use of the word 'worker' over 'staff', due to the higher associated strength in the word.