K. JANARTHANAN
After a high-intensity volleyball game at a field in Kallang, domestic worker Ramdinpuii usually heads back to her employers’ home in high spirits.
“People there are surprised to see me arriving perspiring, wearing T-shirt and shorts,” said the 25-year-old. “I actually love volleyball outings because it helps me take my mind of domestic chores. They help me relax and feel bright.”
Ms Ramdinpuii, from Aizawl in the north-east Indian state of Mizoram, has been playing volleyball since her school days. “I played and won several awards representing both my school and my hometown,” she said.
To support her family, she started working full-time at age 18, including a stint as a hotel assistant in Chennai.
She moved to Singapore in 2021, and currently works for a migrant family from Uttar Pradesh.
Ramdinpuii is among several young women from India’s north-eastern region who have formed a team, bridging cultures and participating in sports events with women from the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries.
Their sporting pursuits were showcased at an exhibition last month titled On Sundays, We Play. It celebrates the multifaceted identities and talents of Singapore’s migrant domestic workers.
Organised by sociologist Selvaraj Velayutham from Sydney’s Macquarie University and partnered by Sydney-based photographer James Loganathan and organisations such as HOME Singapore and Migrant Writers of Singapore, the exhibition was held at the UltraSuperNew Gallery in Tyrwhitt Road.
Domestic worker and sports organiser Hazel Castialo, 46, said: “Playing volleyball provides these women with an outlet of happiness and freedom amid work and personal challenges.”
Professor Velayutham told tabla! that exhibits such as these play a role in changing the perception of these working women as mere contributors to household chores.
“Often in our society, domestic workers are expected to function in the background. Initiatives such as this help bring out the full dimension of these women,” he said.
