The socio-legal implications of women's work in the informal sector: a case study of women domestic workers in Pakistan.

• Author: Shahid, Ayesha

Contents Abstract 1. Introduction 2. Domestic Workers in Pakistan: An Overview 3. Feminist Theoretical Perspectives on Gender, Law and Empowerment 3.1 Islamic Perspectives on Women's Work 3.2 Gender, Power and Legal Pluralism in Pakistan and its Impact on Women's Work 4. Breaking the Silence: Voices from the Field 5 Conclusion Endnotes References 1. Introduction

Legal centralist approaches create an image that formal codified law is the only tool for enforcing rights and protecting the vulnerable. (3) However this portrayal of law contradicts the ground realities. Law does not appear only in the form of a set of codified rules but also as informal rules such as customary norms and religious traditions which shape and influence the process of implementation of formal laws. This paper seeks to explore the limits of black letter law as an effective process and mechanism of empowerment for women domestic workers. I argue that recognition and implementation of equal rights for women domestic workers in the workplace would only be possible if we engage with both legal and non-legal strategies.

The first section provides an analytical overview of domestic service in Pakistan. The second section discusses in detail the conceptual framework of this paper, which is based on a non-essentialist perspective that questions the efficacy of law as a tool for empowering women domestic workers in Pakistan. It examines the feminist theories of law 'as a process' and law 'as a socio-cultural construct' combined with studies of legal pluralism and Islamic feminist perspectives on women's work in the light of principal sources of Islamic law. This framework establishes the linkage between these discussions and my main research hypothesis i.e., deconstructing the role of law in empowering women domestic workers by exploring the relationship between law and gender in a plural legal society.

The information provided in this paper is drawn from empirical work carried out for my doctoral research in two urban settings in Pakistan. (4) In the third section, based on the data collected, the paper attempts to establish linkages between findings from the field and the theoretical framework. It emphasises that the issue of women domestic workers can be addressed in a more effective way, by looking into the lived realities of women workers' lives through listening to their voices and experiences. (5) The section further considers some of the key issues that have emerged from interviews with women domestic workers, employers, activists, academics/researchers and government officials.

The conclusion suggests a way forward in the form of using both legal and non-legal strategies for improving the position of women domestic workers in Pakistan.

2. Domestic Workers in Pakistan: An Overview

   Domestic work around the globe is considered as an under-valued and underpaid activity performed by the disadvantaged social groups of society. It is perceived as work with low economic value and an extension of unpaid household duties that hardly get any recognition for the work performed. Traditionally domestic work in others' households has remained a principal way of earning a living for poor women. The vast literature on domestic work (Ehrenreich, B. and Hochschild, A. R., 2003; Silvera, M., 1989; Anderson, B., 1993; Parrenas, R., 2001; Sanjek, R. and Colen, S.,1990; Chang, G., 2000; Sotelo, P. H., 2001; Widge, A., 1995; Christine B. N., 1998; Jacklyn, C.,1989; Langewin, L. and Belleau, M. C., 2000) demonstrates that across the north-south divide it is mostly women who are involved in domestic service, and it is this gendered nature of the work, which under estimates domestic service as having no value at all. It also illustrates the roles of gender, class, race and ethnicity in placing domestic service at the bottom of the employment ladder. Women domestic workers (who migrate to these countries in search of jobs and better living) are employed by not only the affluent families in the developed world but they are also found in great numbers working in their home countries particularly in developing countries for the middle class and the upper echelons of society. It is interesting to note that all studies irrespective of the country of origin point to the inadequacy of a simple legal response to address the situation of women domestic workers. This appears to be the case even in the countries where legal systems are much well developed. Hence it can be argued that the problem is socio-legal, therefore all solutions must look beyond black letter law.

   Pakistan is amongst those developing countries where most households employ women domestic workers. Domestic service is an unregulated, unorganised and undervalued form of employment. Domestic workers are not included in the definition of the 'worker' in labour legislation. (6) There is no law to regulate the relationship between employer and the domestic worker in Pakistan, thus a domestic worker does not exist as a person in labour law. As a result domestic workers have no legal rights to a weekly rest day, maternity leave and public holidays. In theory they can bring a civil/criminal action but in the absence of adequate labour law they do not engage with the law or with the state on a daily basis in their lives, nor can they think of accessing courts due to their socio economic situation in the country. In the absence of any labour legislative framework, women domestic workers are not able to claim any rights against their employers. There is also no specific complaint procedure available under the labour law through which a domestic worker facing abuse could lodge a complaint. Domestic workers do not enjoy the same rights as the industrial workers, technical workers, sales persons and others in the informal employment sector, who are given protection under the labour laws of the country. In the absence of any legal framework there is hardly any case law available specifically on domestic workers in Pakistan. Only recently two cases of abuse of child domestic labour have been reported in the press. (7) In both the cases two girl children became victim of abuse due to indebtedness of their families to landlords. Only one case has been filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan with the support of a human rights organisation, the other family has not even been able to register a case with the police. These cases highlight the limits of law as a tool for empowerment.

   Due to the existence of class hierarchies in the Pakistani society it is extremely difficult to challenge if both parties are not of the same socio economic status. As employers in comparison to women in domestic service are in a privileged position they easily flout the law by using their money and social status, thus a probable explanation for non-registration at the police station in one of the above cases. Such cases also draw attention to the need for support structures without which it is unlikely that law alone will provide any protection against exploitative conditions of work.

   There are only oral agreements and no written contractual arrangements between the employer and the employee. Domestic service in Pakistan is also associated with bonded labour. (8) Families who have debts to pay to landlords in rural areas are also engaged in domestic service, to pay off their family debts. In this form of service, workers not only surrender their labour but also all control over their lives. It is for the landlord to decide who is going to work for him and he may send the domestic worker to his relatives or to other members of the family. In such situations women domestic workers, especially young girls are in a dangerous situation as they often become victims of sexual abuse.

   Jobs are mostly acquired through friends, community or family members working as domestics in other households. In the case of global/migrant domestic workers we find a network of employment agencies helping women find jobs, thus creating a labour market and some standardization of jobs with respect to wages, working hours and tasks. In Pakistan any such network of employment agencies is almost non-existent, therefore domestic workers have to find jobs on their own or depend on friends and kin to find jobs for them.

   Women domestic workers are employed as full-time, part-time or live-in domestic workers. The wage structure varies according to the localities where they work, the economic status of the employer and the nature of jobs they perform. Those who work for upper class families are slightly better paid as compared to those who work for middle-class families. In Pakistan, hiring of women domestic workers also represents the reinforcement and replication of gender inequalities, for instance women domestic workers are given less than half the wages that male workers in the same occupation receive. A male cook, cleaner or a guard get a higher salary as compared to a woman domestic worker doing the same work. Similarly a male domestic worker would not do any extra work whereas a woman though hired for a single job, would be expected to undertake additional chores.

   As domestic work includes the traditional female roles, it is also not recognised as a 'job'. This gender bias and inequality of treatment has also been discussed by (Rollins 1985, p. 23) who argues that 'the personal nature of this relationship partly develops from the fact that the work done by domestic is a work which could otherwise be done by the employer herself.' The responsibilities assigned to domestic workers are always seen as 'women's work' that is passed on from a woman to a waged worker. This relationship between the employers and their working class domestic workers shows how these privileged women exploit their domestic servants. It clearly demonstrates that women from the upper or middle classes turn a blind eye towards a system that creates class hierarchies and reinforces patriarchy...