As a class, we had to decide what topic we were going to study for our Challenge Based Learning Unit. To do this, we narrowed it down by voting. The majority won and the topic we are now studying is Domestic Workers. In particular, the problem and solution to the issues domestic workers face in everyday life, in Malaysia. An example of a domestic worker struggling would be a women (who's name is unknown) that was abused and had to work long hours.
"I took care of two children.... I cleaned all parts of the house, washed the floor, washed clothes, ironed, cleaned the walls, and washed the car. I cleaned two houses, because I also cleaned the grandmother's house. I worked from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. I had no rest during the day. I worked everyday and was not allowed to go out, not even to walk on the street. The lady employer yelled at me everyday. She slapped me one or two times a week. My employer kept my passport. I was scared to run away without my passport. I wanted to run away, but I was afraid the Malaysian government and security would catch me... I called the labor recruitment company in Jakarta to complain...but they didn't want to take my call" (Opposing Viewpoints)
As you can see, she was forced to work long hours and spent them in not only one house, but two houses. She had no rest from work and wasn't even allowed to leave the vicinity of the houses. She was abused by her employers and her passport was taken away. In addition to having her rights taken away, she wanted to call for help, but her agency wouldn't even listen to her.
This is the problem we are trying come up with a solution to. We want all domestic workers to be treated fairly and we want them to have the option to escape or reach out for help if needed.
This is important for me and my community to acknowledge because this could be going on around us, and we are completely blind to the situation. We need to put a stop to this so that we aren't directly effected by the outcomes, I have researched, that domestic workers face.
When I was first presented with the topic we were doing as a class, I started gathering information. I soon found out, information that was not very nice to hear. The information I read and watched were completely shocking and very sad. The saddest part about reading all of the articles was that, it was actually happening where I have grown up. One of the most surprising facts I have found out was that when, "Abuse Human Rights Watch workers interviewed 28 women who were employed as domestic workers . Nearly half reported suffering physical or psychological abuse from their employers."
Learning this type of information shocks me, but at the same time makes me feel grateful. As I have previously stated, I am shocked because abuse towards domestic workers could be happening around me (closer then I know of). However, I am very grateful that I probably wont have to become a domestic worker because I am getting a proper education and therefore I will be able to pick my career path.
