Abuse and dignity: A tale of two worlds for domestic workers
When Sophia Amimo left the country in search of greener pastures abroad in 2012, she was optimistic. She looked forward to a life changing opportunity.
She landed in Bahrain and got a well-paying job as a domestic worker. It was a dream come true for her. She was certain she would now support her young family, her siblings and parents back home.
True to her expectations, things were rosy. However, all that soon changed, much to her disappointment. In an interview with Nation.Africa, Sophia recalls losing Sh500,000 after her employer refused to pay her for several months. She also sustained injuries on the job, which included taking care of pets like dogs and cats.
Her quest to provide a good life for her children and kin would see her seek greener pastures in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and United Arabs Emirates. In these countries, she worked in several homes.
And even though the jobs were well-paying, Sophia decided to travel back home because of salary delays and non-payments, and being overworked and mistreated.
“Migrant workers are mistreated in these countries, overworked, and sometimes not even paid for work done,” says Sophia, the founder of the Domestic Workers Returnees of Kenya, an organisation helping returnees to rebuild their lives.
For Joyce Mwikali, things were no different. After finishing her secondary education, she travelled to Nairobi in search of work. She landed one as a house help in Nairobi West in 2004, much to her joy. Her starting salary was Sh1,500. Despite the meagre pay, she was so enthusiastic and looked forward to making some savings every month.
Overworked and hungry
However, the reality would soon dawn on her that life as a domestic worker was not a bed of roses. She tells Nation.Africa she was overworked and denied food.
“In the days that I was lucky to get some food, I was not supposed to eat what they were eating. Mine was different. I would wake up at 5am and go to bed at midnight. I never had an off-day.”
She ended up working in three households, all in the same locality.
“In the three households, the men of the house attempted to forcibly sleep with me, but I managed to escape. The women of the house, however, accused me of inviting it upon myself by seducing their husbands,” she says.
Many domestic workers hired locally or abroad, most of whom are women, complain about poor working conditions, long working hours, lack of access to social security, poor pay, sexual harassment, and poor occupational, safety and health conditions.
Domestic workers in Kenya could, however, have a reason to smile if President William Ruto’s recent promise is anything to go by.
