Advertisement
India’s coronavirus lockdown is forcing women to do all the work
- Before the nationwide lockdown was imposed in March, many middle and upper middle class families were used to having at least one domestic helper
- Now, working women have been left shouldering the burden of managing the house and caring for their family – all on top of their regular jobs
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Every morning, marketing professional Sagari starts her day at 9am by sweeping the floors of her two-bedroom flat in suburban Mumbai. The 35-year-old then makes breakfast for her husband, father and three-year-old son, before preparing lunch and parking herself in front of her laptop to work, in between responding to calls for tea from her husband and demands from her toddler.
Advertisement
At 9pm, she cooks dinner then washes up and listens in on international client calls that can last until 2am.
“Sometimes I take painkillers,” Sagari said. “Just so that I can get all the work done.”
Before India imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 23 to control the spread of Covid-19, many middle and upper middle class families like Sagari’s were used to having at least one domestic helper. Millions are employed in this informal job, mostly migrants from rural villages.
Advertisement
But restrictions on movement in the wake of the pandemic meant many were barred from travelling to their employers’ homes or kept out of residential communities to maintain social distancing norms.
Advertisement