Maid of dishonour: Muslim domestics from Tamil Nadu working in Delhi blame it on the name

When one’s name is the reason why one doesn’t get a job, even as a domestic help, there’s just one option left: change the name.
Maid of dishonour: Muslim domestics from Tamil Nadu working in Delhi blame it on the name

NEW DELHI: When one’s name is the reason why one doesn’t get a job, even as a domestic help, there’s just one option left: change the name. That’s what a group of domestics from Tamil Nadu, denied jobs in Delhi for being Muslim, have been doing. They have been adopting Hindu names.

“We just do menial jobs at homes. I do not see why my Muslim name should come in the way of my getting work as a domestic help. I don’t like losing my identity, but I have a family to feed,” says 27-year-old Shehnaz (name changed). She moved to Delhi five months ago after marriage.

The problem is the same for Shabnam (name changed), who came to the national capital four years ago. She has been working as a domestic since her husband died in a road accident.

“I am uneducated and it is very difficult for me to get a job. The only one I can get is of a domestic help, and even that is not happening because of my religion. I want to be known by my real name. I am not a criminal. I don’t see any reason to hide my identity,” she rues, pointing at 12 women who have suffered the same fate.

Residents of Delhi don’t mince words, though. “It is my personal choice who I will employ and who I won’t. I do not feel secure about a Muslim woman working in my house. I do not trust them,” says Radhika Shukla of Pandav Nagar, adding that most women in her locality would not employ Muslim domestics.

The residents also say they do not trust police verification of domestic helps. “Unless we have a formal request for verification or a complaint, we cannot take action. We know it is wrong to discriminate on the basis of religion but unless people file complaints, we cannot act,” says a senior police officer.

An online portal that provides domestic helps has a religion column listed against the names of women registered with it.

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