hrw | Despite wide coverage of the case in India, there has been little
public outrage or shame that Devyani Khobragade, India’s deputy consul
general in New York, who has championed women’s rights in other
settings, allegedly paid her domestic worker a fraction of New York’s
legal minimum wage.
Instead, many commentators have leapt to Khobragade’s defense, saying
she could not be expected to pay her nanny US$4,500 per month, more
than her Indian government salary. But no one has a right to a domestic
worker. Yes, child care options in the US need to be expanded. But if
you cannot afford to pay your nanny, you shouldn’t hire one.
In India the outrage has been over how New York City authorities
treated Khobragade upon arrest for alleged visa fraud, handcuffing her
outside her children’s school and reportedly strip-searching her.
Indians across the political spectrum have expressed anger, viewing this
as an insult to national pride. The Indian foreign secretary met with
the US ambassador in Delhi to complain, and top officials have canceled
meetings with a visiting US congressional delegation.
The common practice in the US of strip-searching people who the
police take into custody raises important human rights questions about
treating individuals with dignity and respecting their privacy.
But other human rights issues at hand – the allegations that Khobragade took advantage of her domestic worker – remain.
Human Rights Watch has documented exploitation of domestic workers around the world. They often face underpayment and long working hours
with little hope of redress. Diplomats from many countries who abuse
their workers have often used their status to skirt the law.
