Torture of a minor domestic help

The way a nine-year-old domestic help was tortured by her employers in Gazipur speaks volumes about the helplessness and vulnerability of those who work in households. The couple, arrested by the police, beat her up with hot kitchen utensils and electric wires whenever she wanted to go home. Anyone with a conscience would be sickened by the image of the torture marks on her body published in this newspaper yesterday.

She should go to school and play rather than work for more than 10 hours a day for a paltry 500 Taka a month. But she is not alone. Of the hundreds of thousands of domestic workers—their exact number is unknown—more than 80 percent are underage girls. The conditions they work in are deplorable and disgraceful. They are excluded from the amended Labour Act 2013, there is no mechanism to monitor their protection from abuse and their income is not included in GDP. They have little scope to complain. 

A number of measures should be implemented to address their woes.  Existing legal frameworks to protect their rights need to be strengthened. The Draft Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy 2010 should be finalised, enacted and implemented without delay. Domestic work needs to be included in the list of Hazardous Work from which children should be spared.

The incident is a glaring example of how negligent society is towards these children. As a society, we are obligated to treat every child with compassion and dignity.