Child labour in domestic work remains widespread in Pakistan and must be condemned. While hiring children as house help is deplorable, it is even more distressing to note the frequent physical torture and emotional stress suffered by them.
In the past few months, there have been several incidents reported from across the country regarding the physical abuse, torture and even death of minor girls working in homes. In the first incident, a ten-year-old girl Rizwana was brutally tortured by the wife of a civil judge. The young girl suffered gruesome injuries and is still under treatment.
Another incident occurred when a minor girl Fatima died mysteriously in the house of a local influential in Ranipur, Sindh. The girl was deeply distressed after being tortured and suddenly died. Police covered up the incident initially but eventually arrested the main suspect after socil media outcry. Just days ago, another girl working as a maid was thrashed by her female employer in Islamabad.
Although the actual figures are not available, anecdotal evidence suggests that child labour in domestic work is prevalent across Pakistan and involves more young girls than boys. It is common to see families with children employed as domestic workers, a practice that must be discouraged and shunned.
Children are often pushed to work by their parents and receive meagre incomes. These children work in hazardous conditions with no working hours, live in squalid conditions like sleeping on the floor, no holidays, and are even denied permission to visit their families. They are subjected to verbal, physical and mental abuse, often beaten and threatened by their employers, usually influential or feudal persons.
There is no legal recourse for them as the laws are not effectively implemented. Although Pakistan is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the treaty has not been ratified. The framework on labour and education are not aligned and gaps exist in policies to eliminate domestic child labour. There is a lack of political will and limited importance to ending the menace.
Pakistan needs a clear roadmap on eliminating domestic child labour. This practice has extremely destructive effects on children and must be stopped. Intergenerational cycles of poverty and lack of awareness among disadvantaged families foster such practices. Until we create a society averse to these archaic practices, many innocent souls such as Rizwana and Fatima will continue to suffer.
