Creating awareness: Tête-à-tête with women domestic workers

‘Employers try to exploit our lack of awareness about our rights’.

LAHORE: The Aurat Foundation, under its USAID-funded Gender Equity Programme, arranged a get-together with women domestic workers from Maryam Nishat Colony, in collaboration with the Asavari Development Organisation on Saturday.

The meeting aimed to create awareness regarding women supportive laws among the domestic workers.

Representatives of Aurat Foundation’s partners, domestic women workers, staff members of the Asavari Development Organisation and representatives of the Domestic Workers’ Union of Gujranwala attended the event.

GEP Senior Programme Officer Sumera Saleem discussed the objectives of the activity and the challenges and issues faced by Pakistani women. GEP Deputy Programme Manager Hasna Cheema gave a briefing on the Gender Equity Programme, with reference to its work in the Punjab. She spoke about initiatives in which victims of gender based violence were provided shelter, help-lines for quick response, opportunities of economic rehabilitation and psycho-social and legal counsel from professional psychologists and lawyers.

Domestic women workers shared the issues they faced. Many of them said that they carried the fiscal responsibility for their families. They said most of their employers tried to exploit their lack of awareness of their rights and protection laws. They complained about the low salaries they were paid and sexual harassment, which they said, was very common.

One of the domestic workers from Gujranwala recited a poem on the rights of women and their ability to face every problem.

Esther Anjum, the focal person for Asavari Development Organisation, discussed the work done by Asavari.

The women presented a theatrical performance titled Khud Ko Badlo To Zamana Badlay Ga.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2014.