CLAIMING OUR VOICE follows members of Andolan, a Queens-based organization founded and led by South Asian domestic workers as a means to support each other and collectively organize against exploitative work conditions in an industry prone to underpayment of wages, extended work hours without rest, sleep deprivation, lack of health care, verbal and emotional abuse, and sometimes, physical assault, and sexual abuse. This film presents the women of Andolan as they create, rehearse and refine acts for their first multi-lingual theater performance with the help of Sri Lankan-American performing artist YaliniDream.

There are 1.8 million domestic workers in the United States. Of these domestic workers 99% are foreign born, and 93% are women. CLAIMING OUR VOICE helps raise awareness and foster discussion about the hidden issues of domestic work and immigration both within and outside of the South Asian community. Through the course of the film, our main characters are revealed as their own heroines - challenging stereotypical images of immigrants and low-wage workers as well as notions of culture, race, gender, and class.

CLAIMING OUR VOICE is available for educational purchase on DVD and Digital File combo. The DVD includes the full performance of the theater piece created by Andolan, "Sukh aur Dukh ki Kahani (Stories of Joy and Sorrow)". To facilitate discussion in community screenings and classrooms, a screening guide and companion curriculum is included with the purchase of the film. Written and developed by Promiti Islam, M.A. and Dr. Monisha Bajaj, Ed.D.in consultation with Chitra Aiyar, Karishma Desai and Jennifer Samuel, this resource packet includes a four-lesson unit for high school level students on understanding the power of narrative and voice for immigrant domestic workers.