She goes to bed at midnight. Hundreds of thousands of Asian women try to escape financial hardship by working as maids abroad. Governments encourage the practice, which brings in foreign currency because maids send most of their earnings to families back home in the Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Yet, those heroines must put up with daily indignities, ranging from walking a few steps behind their employers to virtual bans on the use of swimming pools at fancy apartment complexes. Once in Singapore, a maid cannot leave easily.
Agents hold maids' return plane tickets, and in some cases their passports.
Many maids feel they have little choice but accept their fate, considering poverty and unemployment at home. When her current two-year contract with a Singaporean family expires, Rita hopes she can afford to return home for good. Like the other maids interviewed for this story, Rita asked that her last name not be revealed for fear of offending her employer. The maids' lot is in stark contrast to that of the chic Singaporean women who make up more than 40 percent of the island's work force, in large part because they can leave their homes and children in the care of foreigners. They are regularly screened for pregnancy as well as for venereal and other diseases.