Deprivation has been an integral part of Savita’s life from the beginning. Her parents moved from a small village in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal to Jaipur in Rajasthan, in search of employment. To bolster the meagre family income, Savita started doing domestic work along with her mother at the age of 13. She often worked, without complaint, for 10 hours a day, in the hope that fortunes would change.

“Being a servant can be very humiliating. When I was small I was forbidden to sit on a chair in my employer’s home or even eat in the plates that they used regularly. And using their toilet was forbidden even if it was an emergency. Ill-treatment was ‘normal’ and for every little mistake I was beaten up. Those days, I used to dream of leaving this work and going to school and playing like others my age,” says Savita.

At 29, little has changed for her, other than the fact that she is now married. She still works as domestic help in seven homes in Jaipur, and despite labouring for 12 hours every day, earns a meagre ₹3,500 per month. She continues to be mistreated by her employers, her standard of living has scarcely improved. Yet, today Savita has the confidence to not just stand up for her rights as an individual and a worker but also ensure that unlike her, her daughter gets educated and breaks out of the circle of disempowerment.

Bit by bit

Being part of a small group of domestic workers in her area has made a difference to Savita’s attitude. She now recognises herself as a ‘domestic worker’ — a member of the country’s large unorganised labour force. Her awareness has increased tremendously, and she now knows how to access government welfare schemes. When she gets to know of a fellow domestic worker being ill-treated she is ready and willing to speak up on their behalf.

Like Savita, there are over 12,000 women domestic workers in the Pink City who have come together as part of the Rajasthan Mahila Kamgaar Union (RMKU) to demand their rights and establish their identity as workers. The brainchild of Jaipur-based social activist Mewa Bharti, this group has become a force to reckon with. “Women domestic workers in India are highly overworked and underpaid. Moreover, they are often subjected to sexual and physical violence because their workplace constitutes private homes and as such there are no laws or policies to protect their interests,” says Bharti.

An incident involving a 15-year-old domestic worker in Jaipur compelled Bharti to work towards changing the lives of these women. “After the teenager was raped by her employer she became pregnant. When she approached them for help she was publicly disgraced. I came to know of this case from another domestic helper. I ensured that she had a safe delivery and then I fought for justice for her. The police did not cooperate initially and only after I sought the support of women’s groups in the city did they register a case. It took three long years but we were able to force the culprit to pay for the education and upkeep of the child. As I worked on this case I realised that I wanted to do more to safeguard the position of these women,” she says.

Bharti knew that the key to empowering these workers would be to bring them on a common platform where they could brainstorm for solutions to their problems. She explains that with support from Jagori — the Delhi-based women’s resource centre working on issues of migrant women and informal women workers over the past several years — they have realised the power of collective action, even though the journey is not that easy.

RMKU functions in a simple manner: there are several small mohallah (neighbourhood) groups across Jaipur and each one has a representative who goes door-to-door motivating women to participate in the monthly meetings. This group essentially serves as the domestic worker’s support system, a place where they can talk freely.

Apart from problem-solving, the forum spreads awareness regarding various social schemes and how to procure key government documents like a ration card or Above/Below Poverty Line (APL/BPL) cards, which are crucial to the survival of this largely migrant workforce. Tackling employer and police harassment, too, is spoken about in great detail.

Bali, who works in Jaipur’s Devinagar area, says, “When we come from another state we have no local identity proof or ration card. That in itself stops us from accessing subsidised food grains, opening a bank account or getting admission for our children in a nearby school. The slums where we manage to hire a small, airless room are extremely dirty and most of us don’t even have access to toilets. But no government paid any attention to our needs till we built our own collective. Suddenly, we had an identity.”

“I understood that my employer cannot hit me. So the next time she tried to raise her hand, I told her that I would go to the police. She was appalled at my outspoken behaviour and I eventually lost that job but I am happy that I spoke up for myself. Nowadays, whenever someone abuses one of us we stand together. Consequently, the employers have started treating us better,” says Geeta, who works in Jaipur’s Randev Nagar.

Of course, for the roughly eight lakh domestic workers in India (ILO estimates) there is finally some reason to hope — the Government of India has prepared a national policy that promises to protect their interests. The draft ‘National Policy for Domestic Workers’, prepared by the Director General Labour Welfare, in compliance with the provisions of the ILO convention on domestic workers, recommends a minimum monthly wage for unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly-skilled categories of domestic workers, besides provisions for compulsory paid leave, a mandatory contribution from the employer towards their social security and a proper grievance redressal mechanism.

While Bharti and her vociferous group are glad that domestic workers have the attention of the political powers, they advise caution. “There’s still a long way to go before the National Policy comes into force. Till then, our focus will continue to remain on solving wage disputes, rescuing child domestic workers and combating violence faced by domestic workers,” she says.

The perils domestic workers face came to the fore recently, when two Nepali women domestic workers, raped and abused by their diplomat employer, were rescued from a Gurgaon house. Geeta, a domestic help in Delhi, says, “This is not the first time it has happened. Risk of sexual abuse is real and constant and one has to remain very alert. Sadly, the law only helps the high and mighty.” Bharti adds, “Most often the influential go scot-free and the abused woman is left alone to pick up the pieces. But as the once voiceless, faceless women of the RMKU have proven, even the most disadvantaged group can change the odds if they stand by each other.”

© Women’s Feature Service

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