It is a stark reality in India that young girls are engaged as casual labourers or domestic workers despite the existence of labour laws, the abolition of child labour and child-care rights.
Look around you and see how many people have hired young nannies to look after their kids or to work as a house help. “We are helping her economically” most people would casually snub, ignoring the fact that they are stealing the opportunities of education from her.
The statistics of young working females are shocking, and what’s even more disturbing is the prevalence of “period poverty” amongst the domestic workers. Now, we know that the disparity that lies amongst the population in regards to affording safe menstrual hygiene practices. But we need to understand that this disparity affects marginalised sections in more ways than just economically.
What Does “Period Poverty” Actually Mean And How It Affects Domestic Workers?
Period poverty is the lack of access to sanitary products, menstrual hygiene education, toilets, handwashing facilities, and waste management. It covers up the taboos against eating certain kinds of foods, restrictions on praying and other activities. It transcends all spheres of life and not just the economic aspect of it.
Period poverty among domestic workers is quite rampant. Even though a good number of them in urban cities claim to have switched to sanitary napkins from old cloth rags, the taboos and myths revolving around periods still exist.
Menstruation related myths and taboos also affect domestic workers in their workplaces. Many households ask their female cooks not to enter the kitchen during her menses. A resident near my house in East Delhi very proudly mentioned to us that she doesn’t let her maid wash the utensils when she is menstruating. Although this indeed reflects on the employer more than the worker, this forced off day for the maids leads to a cut in their wages.
From my conversation with a couple of domestic workers who hailed from the village Dallupura in Delhi, I was informed how they are not allowed to use the bathroom in the houses they work, making it difficult for them to change the pads. Even if they are allowed to use it somehow, they have to hide their sanitary products in their bags because they didn’t want the employers to know about it.
Further, the domestic workers claimed that they do not have the option to rest or take a leave when they are menstruating. Despite heavy cramps and headaches, they chose to come to work fearing a wage cut. The housework essentially requires them to bend over a lot of times while cleaning and experiencing cramps at the same time can make the work pretty hard.
On enquiring about which menstrual health products they preferred, the women favoured sanitary pads. They claimed sanitary pads work the best for them since they can be used and thrown without having to bear the responsibility of cleaning or washing which would have been the case with either cloth pads or menstrual cups. A clean washroom and a regular water supply are lacking most of the time where they live, so they are more convenient.
It is only in urban areas of the country where the condition for domestic workers to practice MHM is slightly better. For migrant domestic workers or the ones belonging to a lower socioeconomic area, the situation more or less remains the same.
Ensuring Health And Safety Of The Domestic Workers
Domestic workers in India do not have social security and policies do not benefit them. The regulatory framework for domestic workers fails to provide sufficient workplace protection since their job involves working on the private property of their employers, where protective legislation cannot be surveyed every time. For a lot of them, their workplace in an amalgamation of different private properties. Hence, ensuring a proper sanitation facility for domestic workers becomes a difficult task for the legislation.
The onus of creating more awareness and action around this issue, therefore, falls on the shoulders of their employers. They must ensure that they provide adequate salaries and sanitation facilities to their employees so that they can practice healthy menstrual management.
With the availability of MHM in workplaces and a responsible employer, women workers can have access to a suitable work environment.
The author is a part of the current batch of the #PeriodParGyan Writer’s Training Program