Maasi needs legal protection and patronage

nazeerarijo@gmail.com

The word "Maasi”is used for women domestic workers ,employed by the affluent,the middle  and the upper-class families .They clean, cook, care for children ,look after  elderly_ family members ,and perform other essential engagement for their employers. Despite their decisive duty, they are among the most exploited and  abused workers in  Pakistan and elsewhere. They are  always overworked, under-paid ,and sometimes  subjected to verbal, physical and sexual abuse. In  urban areas ,early  in the morning,  a swarm of maasis comprising the young and old can be seen walking briskly  on their way to work ; in the evening, they come trudging along clumsily due to physical fatigue, with shoppers in their hands carrying left -over food given by the employers  COVID-19 shutdown has negatively impacted across the sections of the Society in general, and the daily-wagers and maasis in particular.

 Recently, a Geo News  raised our eye brows after having highlighted the case of female domestic

 Workers’ vulnerability in terms of losing the job as well as the paltry pay. Despite the province

 placed under lockdown,  a group of female workers was seen standing at a certain area in

 Karachi. They news reporter asked them as to why they were going to work. They responded

 having said that they were  called by ( begum sahebas )_ the wives of the employers_

 to return to work. Failing to ,they would lose the job and the pay .The interviewees expressed

– in clear  terms that they can’t afford getting out of work . Basically ,hailing from humble

 backgrounds, compelled by chronic poverty ,landlessness, droughts and floods ,interest based

 borrowing and subsequent circular debt, or vicious circle ofs debt by landlords;  they migrate to

  big cities in search of livelihoods. Both male and women work in  order to keep home fire

 burning .Male members start doing every odd job available whereas females being uneducated

  and unskilled, start doing their job as a part–time ,full-time and live-in-workers.

.Scores of those women work in   two to three households doing already agreed duty like only

 cleaning ,or dishwashing or   doing  the laundry.

 It has been noted that that because of impoverishment  either young girls are allowed to be

domestic worker or after the mothers having become old ,take their young daughters

  to help their old  mothers finish the assigned workload.  New kids on the block- newcomers to

 particular place or sphere of activity –are at greater risk of becoming victim of sexual abuse .

Despite working from dawn to dusk, they are leading a miserable life .Their children can be seen

 in tattered clothes, malnourished and diseased.They are deprived of motherhood as their

 mothers are away throughout the day . The new generations’ present is bleak ,and  their future

 seems pretty unpromising. Those engaged in domestic service   live in squalid one –room

quarters and huts erected on plots.

 .Usually, they prefer to building jughees/ chapra on plots with boundary  wall

,which could accommodate two to three families in order to minimize share of rent to be given,

 necessitated by their insufficient income. They thus are living without proper washrooms and

 toilets. They  have lived for generations like this .And there seems to be no light at the end

of the tunnel .

The modern_ day masters_ employers_ calling those workers in the wake of  ongoing

 pandemic throws light on the murky environment, exploitation and vulnerability that characterizes

 domestic work  in Pakistan. Calling the workers in question is also challenging the writ of the

 government of the day ,which has prioritized -stay at home -as a measure to stop the spread

 of contagious corona virus . I have deliberately used the term -the masters and the slaves-

 because only a colonial mind-set stoops  so low to exploit those workers given

understanding of the latter’s being financially dependent on the odd job as  only source of survival.

 The book ,” Silent Voices ,Untold Stories -Women Domestic Workers in  Pakistan and their

 Struggle for Empowerment ” by Ayesha Shahid,  offers a diversified, academic and research

-based approach on the topic  as well as issues and  difficulties faced by women domestic

 workers in Pakistan. The distinguished writer has convincingly explained that “ Pakistan is

 amongst those developing countries where most households employ women

 domestic workers .Domestic service is an unregulated ,unorganized ,and undervalued

Form of employment. Domestic workers are not included in the definition of the” worker” in

labour  legislation .There is no law to regulate the relationship between employer and the

domestic workers in Pakistan ,thus a domestic worker does not exist as person in labour

law. As a result , domestic worker have no legal rights to a weekly rest day ,maternity leave and

public holidays. There is no specific complaint procedure available under labour law through

 which a domestic worker facing abuse could lodge a complaint. Domestic workers do not enjoy

the same rights as the industrial workers ,technical workers ,sales persons and others in the

informal sector employment sector, who are given protection under the labour laws of the country.

In Pakistan there are various social classes and there is much disparity among these classes.

The unequal treatment faced by women domestic workers is an outcome of class discrimination

and an integral part of patriarchal structures of the society .An obvious reason is that the upper

class does not want their workers to be aware of their rights or to be protected by law, because

 they fear that awareness about their rights and legal cover might encourage their uprising against

the rich and the powerful .Secondly,it is a matter of conflict of interest ,because if this sector is

 regularized and legal protection is given to these workers ,the upper class will not be able to use

 their services by paying meager salaries nor would domestic workers be at the disposal of

employers who could throw them out of jobs whenever they want”.

There is this network of disadvantages at play pushing them into bondage as well as hanging them

out to dry .It is to be noted that the history of domestic workers being sexually harassed and

abused by their recruiters dates back to the darks days of slavery.

Taking the advantage of the deprived or the already disadvantaged is unethical, inhuman act

and unconstitutional engagement-to be discarded the sooner ,is the better.

In a patriarchal society ,women is seen as an object of satisfying baser biological urges boiling in

a man. Women walkthrough” lustful looks and  smiles” at a bus stop, at a bookshop ,at a

 cloth market, and at every public space etc..

 This is the reason why , not only harassment at work place but violence and domestic

 abuse against the daughters of  Eve is common in our country ,with very little

institutional engagement for the redressal of issues elaborated above .Due to teethless laws,

we have seen surge in cases of sexual harassment coming from factories ,pharmaceutical

industries ,Commercial banks and academic institutions like the schools and universities etc.

When educated women are facing this evil ,then the difficulties and indignities faced by

 womenfolk engaged in domestic work ,can be imagined.

In 2018, a survey carried out by the Thomas Reuters  Foundation (TRF) ,ranked Pakistan as

 as the sixth most dangerous country in the world for women.

According to the International Labour Organization  (ILO) , around 8.5million people in Pakistan

-mostly  women and children – are employed as domestic workers in households. We are an

Islamic society .Neither Islamic teachings nor the  constitution of Pakistan allow oppressive

 environment and discrimination against women in every context.

.Article34 provides that the state must take steps to ensure full participation of women in all

 spheres of life .Article 35 lays down responsibility on the state to protect the family ,the marriage

 ,the mother ,and the child .Article 37 ( e)  provides that the state shall make provisions for secure

 and humane conditions of work, ensuring that women and children are not employed in

 professions, unsuited for their age and sex .

The UN Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against women (CEDAW)

calls on states to adopt prohibitions on sex discrimination. It requires state parties to modify social

and cultural patterns of conduct ,to eliminate prejudice and practices that are based on the

 inferiority of women ,to provide women with rights equal to those of men in fields of employment

 and family  benefits ,and to recognize the difficulties facing rural women in particular.

Pakistan being a party to the CEDAW is obliged to provide protection to domestic workers in

 terms of their working conditions, remuneration etc. The writer of the above mentioned book ,

has convincingly concluded that domestic service is only source of survival for millions ,abolishing

it is not  advisable. Ayesha Shahid has forwarded the idea of making a countrywide

survey and subsequently giving them legal cover by the state and patronage by the society given

 their vital role in our households. I second her conclusion as a sustainable solution. The survey

under the head of ‘ National Domestic Service (NDS) and registration of those rendering vital

 service  to be put in place for the relief and much- needed reforms ,in accordance with the

constitution of Pakistan and the CEDAW

 Justice demands that this domestic service to be urgently registered, regulated, and legal cover

 and entitlement to the old age benefits be prioritized.