‘We too are professionals’

Abeni Ezung lives in a rented room just across the courtyard of her landlord’s house in Dimapur, Nagaland. About six to seven such rooms stand neat and adjacent to one another, with small plants and flowers adding colour to the surroundings. Apart from a large living room, Ezung’s living quarter has a kitchen.

The energetic and lively mother of three would rather not recollect the years gone by. “My husband passed away long ago,” she said, uncomfortable about revealing her age, even as she showed her identity card issued by the Nagaland Domestic Workers Union, of which she is the president. All workers registered with the union have an ID card.

Ezung cannot work outside the home the whole day. “I have to look after the children and the house,” she explained. Apart from her job as a domestic worker during the first half of the day, she supplements her income by making baskets and other decorative pieces.

Started in 2014, the domestic workers’ union has over 1,000 members and growing. Having worked in various homes ever since she got married, Ezung said she initially knew nothing about the union. It was her friends and neighbours who nudged her to join the “women’s society”. She then registered herself and became a part of what she termed “a movement”.

The women identify with each other, pass on information through word of mouth and now through mobile phones. Members come together to solve issues, which, Ezung said, is one of her main responsibilities as president. “The main problem is our members are illiterate. Often the employers fake the payment of salaries.” The union ensures an agreement is signed between the employee and employer to avert conflict and as an assertion of domestic work as a profession.

Tutu, a union member in her mid-20s, said they often come across “difficult employers” who expect them to work long hours while paying very little. At times they literally have to beg the employers to pay their salaries.

Helpers or aiyas (as they are popularly known) are found in almost all well-to-do homes in Nagaland and other parts of northeast India, yet domestic work is not regarded as employment. Often girls (and even boys) from poor families or orphans are taken in by affluent families. The arrangement is considered higher in status than that of domestic workers.

Domestic workers struggle not only for their livelihood but also their dignity. “For us it is about our daily food and lives. I had to feed my children and look after my home. So we had to put up a fight, right?” Ezung said. Now that their movement is gaining momentum, people are beginning to understand their point of view and showing some amount of respect, she said.

The writer is a journalist based in the North-East

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