|| Jyoti Sonia Dhan ||
The Nobel laureate Prof. Amartya Sen said on child domestic workers that “it is not economic poverty but rather political poverty that is depriving children their rights to education and pushing them to labour force. Our actions should aim at attacking this political poverty to bring education to the reach of children and free child domestic workers from the bondage.”
The child domestic labour is common and traditional form of child labour in India. The child domestic workers are referred to children engaged in domestic chores in a home outside the families for a wage in cash or kind. There are 12.6 millions children in work in India. The record from UNICEF says that there are 35 millions child labourers, out of which 20% to 40% does the domestic work. The 86% of the child domestic workers are girls and below 14 years of age. Even the report from UNDP says that 40% of the child domestic workers are girls and age below 14 years specially employed in the metro cities. Each house hold has the domestic task of cleaning, washing, laundry, food preparation, shopping, swabbing, or taking care of children. These tasks were performed by child workers.
What causes to become child domestic workers? There were few major reasons like poverty, lack of alternative livelihood, parental attitude to female education and “demand from middleclass for domestic workers”. While defining poverty, there are few things like the source of income is less as compare to the number of mouths to be fed. The repayments of debt, families do not make enough money from agriculture which results to child domestic workers. The agriculture land feds them for 8 months and rest 4 months families go to work as labourer. The worst situation arises when there is drought or flood. In such adverse situation the parents prefer their children to go to work rather sending them to schools. The girls specially are not send to school rather are send as domestic workers. Besides, the failure of governments’ programmes and welfare benefits results in food insecurity, which force children to work.
The alarming issue is the demand of domestic workers among the middle class. The contemporary trend of women working outside the homes, there is necessary of ‘hired paid help’. But, this alone do not justify as it was observed that, families where women do not go outside the homes had also child domestic worker. The families prefer children as they have to pay less than adult for the same amount of work. They are perceived to be easier to be managed which means they are obedient and can be easily trained to conform to the requirement of the employers. They are more submissive and hardworking. They also give company for employer’s child. They are unable to organize to form unions and do not have the bargaining power.
This middleclass family generally approaches the relatives who were residing proximity to villages who can provide them cheap labour specially the girls. The monthly pay circulates around 200/- to 1500/- depending upon the city they send. If happens to be metro the price will be high and for district town bit lower then metro. Even the parents of the child are ready to send their daughter to such families who will pay them high. The campaign for “education to all” by Government does not interest sending their daughter to school. The reason behind is gender biasness. The parents were much acquainted with the demand among the middle class for domestic workers therefore; they do not hesitate to send their daughter to work. The city of New Delhi has the flow of girls from Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Bihar and West Bengal. The children come from remote tribal villages to get employed from Ranchi, Lohardaga, Khunti, Gumla and Simdega of Jharkhand, so with other states.
There are innumerable placement agencies working towards children domestic workers. They negotiate with both the parties, the employer of child and parents of child. These agencies move around the village area and identify the families who are in most needy. They influence them by narrating the benefits of sending their daughter to work. Thus, starts the journey of a little girl from village to town. The families do not even know where their daughter is send. The agency gets one month’s salary from the employer of child. The middleclass families in the cities are ready to accept child as the domestic worker, since, they don’t want to pay more for domestic work.
The children face violence under the hands of employer through all forms. They are worst treated to bonded labourer. There are instances of child domestic worker in Lohardaga district of Jharkhand, where the children from tribal families work as bonded labourer to non tribal families. The reason behind is clearance of the debt taken by the child’s parents.
The question lies why a middleclass educated family do not have sensitivity towards these children. Is it that they only think through pay and work practice? The domestic child workers were treated as elderly at the tender age of 8 or 10 years. The working hours circulates to 15 hours a day and most of the time 1hrs a break between the works. The children often have poor diet and ask permission to have food. They suffer all kind of abuse, physical, emotional and sexual. Was it the educated think that if they hire a child then child will be treated according to their wishes?
The educated (middleclass) families should have taken the positive side to address this problem. If a family sends their children to work; out of poverty, then it is role of educated class to stretch their hands of help. While bringing them to home for work they should not be deprive from education and nutrition. This will help to support children’s poverty driven family and also to provide protection to the child who would have lost in flesh trade.
Jyoti S Dhan is a social worker
On the whole Government should have come up with stringent Acts on the domestic workers and full implementation of programmes at grassroot level which tends to pull more of children as labourer due to poverty. Will
day come when these children will be celebrating the Children’s day on 14th November is yet to be answered by all.
|| Nava Thakuria from Guwahati ||
