"Yes madam, I can speak!'': A study of the recovered voice of the domestic worker
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Date
2018
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
Events in the last few years on the global stage have heralded a new era for domestic workers,
which may afford them the voice as subaltern that has been silent until now. Despite being
constructed as silent and as subjects without agency, unionised domestic workers organised
themselves globally, becoming more visible and making their voices heard. This culminated in
the promulgation of the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Convention No.189 on
Decent Work for Domestic Workers (or C189) in September 2013, and the establishment of
the International Domestic Workers' Federation (IDWF) in October 2013. This broadening of
the scope of domestic workers' activism has not yet received sufficient attention in academic
research. These two historic events on their own have the potential to change the dominant
discourse around domestic workers, by mobilising workers with agency to challenge the
meaning of the political ideologies informing their identity positions of exploitation and
subjugation.
Description
Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Women and Gender Studies)
Keywords
Domestic workers, Feminist methodology, International Domestic Workers Federation, Activism, Postcolonial theory, Transnational feminist framework, Feminist