Coronavirus: how the closure of India sparked a debate over maids

Over the weekend, India extended the national coronavirus blockade by another two weeks, but said domestic workers can now return to work. In the decision, millions of middle-class households debated a key question: to let workers in or not? Geeta Pandey of the BBC in Delhi explains the dilemma.

A friend once said that if she had to choose between her husband and her maiden, she would choose the latter.

The comment was made as a joke, but it is an example of how much Indians depend on their domestic workers.

According to official estimates, more than four million people work as domestic servants, often for very little money, in wealthy, middle-class Indian households. Unofficial estimates put that number at a whopping 50 million. Two thirds of these workers are women.

The relationship between the maid and the “teacher” is one of interdependence: extreme poverty forces unskilled slum dwellers and the rural poor to seek employment as domestic help as a way of earning a living and for middle class, provides work that keeps their homes running smoothly.

But over the past six weeks, millions of middle-class households have had to cope without their servants, cooks, babysitters, nurses, drivers, and gardeners, as India imposed a strict national blockade to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

For starters, most accepted the restrictions, thinking it was only for three weeks. Some Bollywood stars even posted Instagram videos of themselves cooking, cleaning, and washing dishes.

But with the blockade extended twice already, and the idea that this is going to be a long journey, middle-class India has begun to miss the maids.

The conversation has also drifted towards how older people living alone are coping. And how people with health problems are driving unaided.

Then, there is the anguish that domestic workers face, leaving them with little choice but to return to work.

“Many have lost their jobs and many others say they are not paid wages for the closing period,” Meenakshi Gupta Jain, head of Helper4U, an online platform linking domestic workers to employers, told the BBC.

Over the past month, her Covid Helpline WhatsApp number has received 10-15 messages a day from maids, drivers, and cooks seeking help.

“They say they ran out of money. What do we do? How do we feed our children? We guide them to local charities in their area that can help them get a free ration or cooking gas,” says Gupta Jain.

Sonika Verma, a domestic worker in Delhi who resumed work on Monday, says she considers herself lucky as her employers paid her salary for the closing period.

“I was very tense all these weeks. My husband drives an auto-rickshaw, but he has been sitting at home because cars are not allowed to drive. He also couldn’t go to work and I was afraid of what we would do if I lost my job too,” I said. said.

She says her sisters have not been paid for the period of confinement.

“Their employers paid them for the number of days they had worked in March and paid nothing in April. They also said they would pay only once they resume work, but have not yet called them to return to work,” he said. said.

The reason her sisters have not yet been called to work is because there is a furious debate in many residential societies about whether or not it is wise to allow domestic servants to enter people’s homes.

Some have noted that “the restrictions may have been lifted, but the coronavirus may not” and allow people entering from outside their middle-class colonies to bring the deadly Covid-19 virus to an area that has so far managed to remain free. infection

But, some residential groups say the needs of the elderly and infirm cannot be ignored. Most middle-class Indian homes are not equipped with appliances like dishwashers and washing machines, and housework can be difficult for them.

Anil Tiwari, president of the elegant ATS Greens building society in Noida, outside the Indian capital, Delhi, says they are “positively thinking of allowing maids to enter.”

“We have 735 apartments and there are many older people living here alone. Many of them face many difficulties, so we have to take that into account.”

Among them is (retired) Brigadier Kuldeep Singh Chokkar, who describes his situation as “extremely challenging.”

He is 80 years old, is a cancer survivor with a pacemaker and lives with his wife, who is “75 years old and has her own health problems.”

“If we were younger, we would cope well, but we had a lot of trouble maintaining our home,” he told me by phone.

Until closing, Brig Chokkar had a part-time maid, gardener, and car cleaner who came daily.

“Absolutely,” he says when I ask him if he’s waiting for his return. “It will make my life a lot easier.”

However, my neighbor, the retired school teacher Pinki Bhatia, is a little worried about opening her doors to outside help yet.

She has back problems and has been struggling to survive without any help, she told me.

“But we have no choice. We have been doing everything on our own: cooking, sweeping, rubbing, washing dishes, and doing laundry.”

Ms. Bhatia is in her 60s and her husband is over 70, hypertensive, and has heart problems.

The government notice about the coronavirus says that people over the age of 60 are at higher risk of infection and should not leave, so the couple has been confined to their home for the past six weeks.

“A neighbor’s driver helps us by bringing milk and groceries from the local market,” said Ms Bhatia.

She has two ideas on whether or not to let her maid return to work.

“My children live in Mumbai and Switzerland. I called them up and asked, ‘What should we do?’ They said, ‘Let’s wait another week and see how things play out.’ So let’s wait another week. ” said.

Ms. Gupta Jain says that when garbage collectors and vegetable vendors are allowed in, why are maids and drivers penalized?

“You give them masks, hand sanitizers, and a set of clothes they can wear when they are at home. You take every precaution. But it’s time for them to come back in.”