diff --git a/hide-table-columns.py b/hide-table-columns.py
index c946565a1..771f2fe85 100644
--- a/hide-table-columns.py
+++ b/hide-table-columns.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ def remove_column_from_tables(file_path):
     with open(file_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as file:
         soup = BeautifulSoup(file, 'lxml')
 
+    empty_rows = 0
     in_context = None
 
     print("Checking if in valid context for", file_path)
@@ -41,8 +42,6 @@ def remove_column_from_tables(file_path):
     if row_tag:
         if row_tag.get('content') == 1:
            empty_rows = 1
-    else:
-        empty_rows = 0
 
     for column_name in column_names: