'Of Rasoi Ka Kaam or Bathroom Ka Kaam'.
Sonal Sharma
In the context of domestic
work that is paid, exercises of purity and pollution should be looked at
through a critical lens. In this article, the author, Sonal Sharma goes back to
the idea of purity and pollution in relation to paid work in domestic settings.
However, it is interesting to note that the author re-examines this idea with
the motive of changing the dominant narrative regarding it. The article attempts
to change the discourse around this idea by considering the workers as the subjects
and evaluating their responses.
The author goes on to contend
that the current backgrounds for examining the space of the home and the practices
of purity and pollution are not appropriate in the times we live in and these
constructs need to be revamped so that we can have a better and active understanding
of the ground reality of domestic work and the way, caste hierarchies play out
at work. In particular, the article highlights that it is essential to study
the gender foundations of inequality to understand and analyze the conditions
of women in India. Most importantly, the article sheds light on the idea that
women should not be looked at as a group consisting of similar entities but should
rather be seen as members of various sections of the society differing according
to their positions in the social hierarchy based on caste and class and other
factors.
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