Sumitra migrated from Muzaffarpur in Bihar to Delhi in 2005 in search of a better life. Two decades later, she juggles domestic work in her home and outside. She works in five households from 7 am till 2 pm. Once home, does it all over again, cooking and cleaning while taking care of her ailing parents, she told me in October as I was conducting field work among domestic workers in Delhi.
A month later she broke her leg while cleaning a ceiling fan and had to spend Rs 2,000 at a private hospital. Earning around 3,000 per month she pays rent and supports her unemployed husband and the education of her 14-year-old son who barely attends classes regularly since she is unable to pay the school fees on time.
Domestic work in India is unorganised and unregulated, even though it contributes to the country’s economy. According to the policy network Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing, or WIEGO, there is no data so far on the exact number of domestic workers in India. The estimates vary from 4.75 million, according to the 2005 National Sample Survey, to over 90 million, going by different sources.
Their grim working and living conditions are well established. In 2007, the...
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