Supporting Domestic Workers; Strengthening Grassroot Feminism

The project “Supporting Domestic Workers: Strengthening Grassroot Feminism” is funded by Women Fund Asia aims at organizing domestic workers at the community level in different district of Punjab. The purpose of this project is organizing awareness sessions on labor rights, decent work and minimum wages, facilitate legal registration of domestic workers, and provide legal assistance to workers facing exploitation.

WISE is undertaking capacity-strengthening training for domestic workers so that they are able to negotiate better working conditions and work towards strengthening the implementation of the Punjab Domestic Workers’, Act 2019. Through this work, we aim to target the invisibilities and devaluation of domestic workers in Pakistan.

Accomplishments (Jan – Oct 2023):

• 240 women domestic workers were organized through 12 Domestic Workers groups at the community level in three districts Sheikhupura, Faisalabad, and Lahore.
• 56 awareness sessions were organized with 1,120 Domestic Workers on the Punjab Domestic Workers Act, 2019, Role of Helplines in handling VAW Incidence and Negotiation Skills.
• 411 domestic workers joined 4 seminars on International Labour Day, International Domestic Workers Day 2023, and Ending Violence Against Child DWs.
• 441 domestic workers joined 5 walk, demo and protest on International Labour Day, International Domestic Workers Day, Ending Violence Against Child Domestic Labour, Provide the justice to the victims, implementation of minimum wage of DWs.
• 862 participants attended 2 Virtual Cafe and 1 twitter space organized on different topics including Violence Against Domestic Workers, International Labour Day, World Day Against Child Domestic Labour.
• 1 media forum were organized in collaboration with Urdu “Daily Express” in connection with International Labour Day.
• 1 Press Conference is organized in collaboration with “Child Rights Movement” on Stop Violence Against Child Domestic Labour: Provide the justice to the victims”.
• Draft the rules of business for the implementation of the Punjab Domestic Workers Act, 2019.
• Three (3) flyers were developed for the importance of “Punjab Domestic Workers Act, 2019, International Labor Day, International Domestic Workers Day and a Situational analysis on Punjab Domestic Workers Act, 2019 were developed.
• Provided legal assistance for a child Rezwana in domestic labor for being tortured by his
• Provided the facilities for strengthening the three (3) registered Domestic Workers Unions, Women Domestic Workers Union Punjab, Parkash Domestic Workers Union (East) and Layalpur Domestic Workers Union (West), Faisalabad. Established the Women Domestic Workers Union Punjab office in Kot Lakhpat Lahore.
• Documenting the (5) case studies of Domestic Workers’ transformative journey.
• One-day training workshop with 75 domestic workers on “Review and Reflection of Punjab Domestic Workers Act, 2019” and one-day out-doer exposure visit to 32 domestic workers in Islamabad were organized.