Domestic workers care for our children; who cares for theirs?

Mukta Akter is a domestic worker living in Azimpur, old Dhaka. She balances her work and motherhood responsibilities with the support of the Azimpur Government Daycare Centre, where she enrolled her children since they were toddlers. Her daughter, now six, progressed into formal schooling, while her five-year-old son continues to learn and grow at daycare freeing her to work.

My name is Mukta Akter. I work as a domestic cook in Azimpur. I have a son and a daughter, but I don’t have anyone to help me at home. My husband works in the local market. We earn very little, but I dream of educating my children properly.

Every morning at 8am, I drop my son off at Azimpur Government Daycare Centre before going to work. I pick him up again at 4pm. 

I first heard about this place from a neighbor, and since then, it has become a blessing in our lives. 

Here, my children are safe, they eat, they sleep, and they learn. The Centre feeds my children, helps them nap, and teaches them so many things. That means everything to me.

My son has been coming here since he was two, and my daughter started even earlier, at just one year. Now my daughter is six years and goes to primary school. This Centre helped shape her future.

I wouldn’t be able to work if this daycare didn’t exist. It’s a second home for my children. Many women like me need to go to work - especially when the household income is so low. Without a safe place for our children, it’s impossible to continue to work. This place gives me peace of mind and the freedom to earn. It’s hard work, but I want my children to grow up to be educated and build better lives for themselves.

Subsidized government daycare centres to the rescue

The Azimpur Government Daycare Centre caters for children from low-income families, such as domestic workers, day labourers, or garment workers. Many of them cannot take their children to their workplaces. 

The services are subsidized by the government, parents paying 100 Taka (US$0.82) for admission, and 100 Taka as monthly fees. 

The Centre, staffed with trained caregivers, cares for children aged from six months to six years. Those between two to six years are taught basic literacy including reading, writing in Bangla and English alphabets, as well as rhymes, and drawing. These early lessons prepare them for primary school. 

It also provides the children with nutritious, balanced well planned meals free of charge for their nutrition and proper growth. 

Domestic workers contribute significantly to childcare in Bangladesh. But they are parents too with care needs for their children. Domestic workers also have great aspirations to see their children go to school and lead better lives.

However, domestic workers in Bangladesh continue to work in the informal economy – characterized by low income and lack of labour rights. Domestic workers are one of the most marginalized groups due to a historical lack of recognition as workers and therefore a lack of legal protection and social protection benefits.

The ILO in Bangladesh is providing technical support to the Government of Bangladesh to develop a childcare system that is equitable and ensures quality, affordability and accessibility to childcare services for all working parents.