The cases range from physical torture to sexual abuse
KARACHI: Despite numerous cases of abuse against domestic workers across the country, the federal and provincial governments have failed to enact a piece of legislation and ensure its strict implementation. Provinces regularaising their own laws to deal with issues as per their own convenience and will are one of the reasons why the problem has not been curtailed. There needs to be one coherent policy and law for equal, undifferentiated implementation across provinces.
There are two aspects to the said issue. First, the domestic help who is harassed or abused, in most of the cases, is below 18 years of age and hence is a child labour. Second, physical torture and abuse is against the very basic rights of the workers. Worst is the manner in which the case is pursued against the culprits, where the police side with the suspect/accused for money and the family of the victim is threatened into silence. The cases range from physical torture to sexual abuse, particularly for female domestic help who are then brutally murdered. A recent case of a 17-year-old domestic help found dead was may to appear as suicide by the employers. However, as per the autopsy report, the girl was murdered with visible marks of physical torture on her body.
As domestic help is mostly hired by well-earning families residing in posh localities, failure to implement the laws appears, unfortunately, as less shocking.
Umaima Younus
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2017.
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