Gender, Migration and Human Trafficking: The Untold Story of the Gurgaon Maids’ Migration from the Sunderbans

Abstract

Gurgaon -is the face of modern india which is defined by sky high apartments, malls and state of the art office complexes. To keep the city running smoothly and maintaining its residents’ high end lifestyle is a huge back up of domestic servants who serve as maids, cooks, drivers, ayahs and so on are required. These servants who comprise the vast unorganized sector in Gurgaon are typically migrant workers from comparatively poorer states of Bengal, Bihar and Chattisgarh. This paper seeks to examine the life stories of three Hindu women of different age groups who work as maids in an upscale apartment complex in Gurgaon. Kamala (42), Rani (23) and Gitu (16) hail from the Sunderbans in West Bengal - a land away from the mainland Kolkata and known for its jungles and tiger population. Kamala, a grandmother at 42 has to work for a living to feed her family of six. She works on a part time basis in 6 houses earning a salary of Rs. 10,000. After taking care of the basic needs of her dependents, she has barely any money to take care of medical emergencies. Rani is slightly better off as her husbana works as a gardener. They have left their daughter in the village to be cared for by her in- laws. Most of what she earns is remitted back to her village. Gitu has been brought to the city by a lady who runs a maid agency. She has been sold off by her parents. She works as a full timer in houses and has barely any access to her salary. Her salary is collected by the lady who also decides her working terms and conditions. She lives like a bonded labour and nurtures a hope that one day she might be able to escape. These women live in perpetual fear of being sexually abused by their employers or the agency people. It is a grim battle for survival made doubly difficult by their gender. This paper seeks to look into the working conditions of women in the unorganized sector, the causes for migration and the human trafficking that carries on unabated in the urban metropolis of Gurgaon. The three women have been selected based on convenience sampling as they work in the apartment complex in which I reside.