Human Rights of Domestic Workers: A Revelation by Housemaids in Smart City of Bhubaneswar, India

Abstract

Today's educated working women face role conflict and stress in meeting the expectations of family and worklife. The only solace or relief that they find is through the cooperation of the domestic helps that they hire to perform household chores. Urban India provides a lot of employment to these women domestic workers in unorganised sector that is in the domestic sphere who migrate from the rural areas to meet their daily needs and help their family in meeting the demands of a better livelihood. Some of them work full time and some perform hour based part time work in different households to earn a living. Even children are also employed to work in the domestic sphere. The diverse work that they perform includes looking after children and elderly, cooking, cleaning, washing and managing the household.The present study attempts to explore the challenges that these women domestic helps face in the urban household environment.Contentions for a better pay, respect and empathy of the employers, perks and day breaks are some of the things that they face in their work-life. However,these women end up being starved, battered, neglected, deprived and even physically and sexually assaulted by the employers..The present study is a humble endeavour to bring to light the challenges that the domestic workers encounter in their urban work environment in the smart city of Bhubaneswar, India, in a human rights perspective.