Political violence has contaminated in every aspects of the social life. A national daily reported on Monday that 57 percent child workers in Bangladesh are physically tortured at workplaces and 66 percent domestic workers suffer from mental torture, while 7 percent of them are raped, according to a study conducted by Nielsen Company (Bangladesh) Ltd on behalf of the Family Planning Association of Bangladesh (FPAB). The government claims to have significantly reduced torture of children in workplaces; but data tell a different story. Unfortunately, recent figures are threatening to stall, or even reverse, that progress.Despite increased awareness, people at home learn inequality and hierarchy. This inequality is dug out when wretched children as service providers are abused by sensible people. Ain O Salish Kendra recorded 19 deaths of domestic workers in the first nine months of last year out of some 46 reported cases of violence against domestic workers. As the abuse of domestic workers is a national shame, public awareness must be increased and more action has to be taken to root out abuses. Poverty, a general lack of knowledge about child rights and disability in the family are the main causes of child labour. No matter how tall the claims are about reduction of poverty in the country, child labour is a harsh reality. It is sheer poverty that forces over two million children to fend for themselves at such a tender age. The government has some big welfare programs for the children in distress but they are mainly on papers and hardly reach the target groups. Moreover, corruption is in born in the schemes. That is very pitiable for the innocent children who are fiercely being tortured at the domestic level due to lack of far-sightedness of the policy-makers.Unprotected by the laws, millions of these underaged working children have neither a minimum wage, nor a limit on the workload that their masters place on their shoulders. In the worst-case scenarios, they are found tortured, sexually harassed or even murdered, which are unacceptable from a humane ground. These growing instances of rough treatment on child domestic workers should be a wake-up call for the government. Eradicating child labour and shameful torture on them will require eradicating poverty. It is imperative that the government should ratify the International Labour Organization’s Convention, which may enhance the rights of domestic workers. The government is said to be in the process of finalizing a new Domestic Worker Protection Act and Domestic Worker Protection and Welfare Policy. We urge for quick and effective implementation of these measures. The impunity and neglect which allow the rights of domestic workers to be trampled on has to end as soon as possible.
