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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.
