Members of the South Asian American community showed their support on Twitter tonight for the maid of an Indian diplomat in New York, Devyani Khobragade, who was arrested for lying on a visa application and paying her maid just $3 an hour .
That’s a wage far below the New York minimum wage of $8 and much less than the $4,500 a month listed on the visa application allegedly filed by Khobragade..
Using the hashtag #StandWithSangeeta, supporters expressed their appreciation of domestic workers and the need for worker rights.
Over 1.8 m domestic workers in US, many of whom are South Asian and with limited workplace rights. #standwithsangeeta @lawatmargins
— Deepa Iyer (@dviyer) December 20, 2013
The arrest of Khobragade last week was met with outrage by officials in India who claimed diplomatic immunity for Khobragade and who were angry that she was stripped and cavity searched. They have demanded that the charges be dropped. But Indian American activist in the United States see this differently.
M/T @dviyer Need to bring focus equally to rights of #standwithsangeeta. Remind folks that South Asians benefit from DW daily — DI▲N▲ B U I (@dianaqbui) December 20, 2013
#standwithsangeeta Utterly disturbing acceptance of the right to exploit Poor people. But India is not the only place #GlobalCapitalism. — سوزان Suzanne Adely (@Suzanne_Adely) December 20, 2013
noon rally tomorrow in nyc #standwithsangeeta https://t.co/yOQosk8Qvx …
— Chitra Aiyar (@AiyarChitra) December 20, 2013
