She was eventually paid – a measly 1,000 rupees [$11; £9] for a month of sweeping, mopping and washing dishes – after a more sympathetic family intervened on her behalf. But she was banned from entering the housing community and did not bother going to the police as she believed they would not take action.
torsdag 13. februar 2025
Why India fails to protect its domestic workers despite decades of abuse
Smitha (not her real name), a domestic helper in Delhi for 28 years, can't forget the day she was beaten in public by one of her employers. The woman had accused Smitha - a Dalit woman from the most discriminated against caste in Hinduism's entrenched social hierarchy - of stealing her daughter's earrings and then refused to pay her. "After many requests, I confronted her in public. That's when she started abusing and hitting me. I held her hands to stop the abuse but the guards came and dragged me out of the housing society and locked the gate," Smitha says.
She was eventually paid – a measly 1,000 rupees [$11; £9] for a month of sweeping, mopping and washing dishes – after a more sympathetic family intervened on her behalf. But she was banned from entering the housing community and did not bother going to the police as she believed they would not take action.
She was eventually paid – a measly 1,000 rupees [$11; £9] for a month of sweeping, mopping and washing dishes – after a more sympathetic family intervened on her behalf. But she was banned from entering the housing community and did not bother going to the police as she believed they would not take action.
