Smitha (not her real name), a domestic helper in Delhi for 28 years, can't forget the day she was beaten in public by one of her employers.

The woman had accused Smitha - a Dalit woman from the most discriminated against caste in Hinduism's entrenched social hierarchy - of stealing her daughter's earrings and then refused to pay her.

"After many requests, I confronted her in public. That's when she started abusing and hitting me. I held her hands to stop the abuse but the guards came and dragged me out of the housing society and locked the gate," Smitha says.

She was eventually paid – a measly 1,000 rupees [$11; £9] for a month of sweeping, mopping and washing dishes – after a more sympathetic family intervened on her behalf. But she was banned from entering the housing community and did not bother going to the police as she believed they would not take action.

Smitha's story is one among hundreds of thousands of accounts of mistreatment, abuse and sexual assault reported by India's domestic workers. Most are women and many are migrants within the country, belonging to castes that are looked down upon.

Last month, India's Supreme Court raised concerns over their exploitation and asked the federal government to look into creating a law to protect them from abuse.

But this isn't the first time that an attempt has been made to create such a legal framework. Despite years of advocacy by various groups and federal ministries, no such law has ever been passed.

Separate bills proposed in 2008 and 2016, aimed at registering domestic workers and improving their working conditions, have not yet been passed. A national policy drafted in 2019........

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