BENGALURU: Ever since her husband ended his life unable to repay the loans over six months ago, Lakshmi, a domestic help in Garvebhavipalya, has been in despair. In addition to this personal loss, the pandemic-induced lockdown hit her hard, rendering her jobless from the two houses she worked at. She doesn’t know how she will continue with the education of her daughter and son.
“My son who passed 10th standard said he will work part time to finance his PUC-I studies. However, I have no money to educate my daughter who will be in 10th standard. We cannot afford online classes. We will drop this academic year and restart her education next year,” Lakshmi said.
While one of her employers left the country and is yet to return, her other employer asked her to return to work post lockdown, only to stop her from coming once again this August due to rising Covid-19 cases.
She had no income during the lockdown and currently gets half salary from the second employer. To add to her troubles, she has loans to repay.
Suffering financial crunch and job loss, the impact on women who are domestic helps has a direct effect on their children. Unable to mobilise enough money to pay for their children’s online classes at school for the next academic year, many are looking at keeping their kids home for a year.
Geeta Menon, joint secretary of Domestic Workers Rights Union, said, “They do not have tablets and smartphones or money to pay for classes held by private and aided schools. Domestic helps either do not have jobs now, have crossed age 50-55 and are asked not to report to work or are allowed to work only in fewer houses now.” Menon said husbands of these women work in the unorganised sector as well such as construction work, driving autos, street vending and have been hit by the pandemic. “There is total helplessness and despair. The women are planning to make their children drop out of the next academic year or take them out of formal education entirely.
We are unable to access any of the government departments owing to the pandemic and our previous petition submitted to the Labour Department elicited no response,” Menon said. Roopa, a domestic help from Ragigudda, is keen to educate both her boys but has got an RTE seat only for one. The school is not agreeing to let her pay fees for online classes in instalments and she doesn’t know what to do next.
“Out of five homes I used to work, two of them let me go. I earn Rs 6,000 per month, have a loan of Rs 7,000 to repay and do not know how to educate my second child. The fee is Rs 28,000 which we cannot afford and we also have only one phone at home,” Roopa said. With no financial relief announced for this sector, unlike barbers, washermen, auto and cab drivers, children of these women stare at a grim future.