Karnataka - Bangalore

They bear the scars of constant abuse

Sahana Charan

FREE NOW: This 12-year-old girl, who was working as a domestic help, seen at Nammane, a shelter for rescued child labourers, in Bangalore on Thursday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

Bangalore: Their childhoods are vanishing in the rigours of backbreaking daily chores and in providing for their families.

Children such as nine-year-old Satya (names have been changed to protect identities) from Assam and 11-year-old Nisha from Mumbai who were brought to Bangalore to work in rich households may never see their families again. And the scars of constant abuse by their employers may never heal.

Even though domestic work and work in the hospitality industry will be considered hazardous occupations under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, with effect from October 10, this abusive form of child exploitation will require a committed programme of eradication by the Government as the problem is both widespread and often concealed.

In thousands of households, educated individuals are insensitive to the rights of children and not only make them work from dawn to dusk but also ill-treat them.

"I used to wash clothes, clean the house, polish shoes and do the cooking. Once when I burned my hand badly while working in the kitchen, my employers shouted and hit me instead of attending to my wounds. They would pinch me and harass me every day," said Satya, who was reportedly employed by a government employee and his wife.

Neighbour to the rescue

Satya, who was studying in the fourth standard, was sent to work in Bangalore by her uncle, without the knowledge of her parents. She was rescued through the efforts of a neighbour who called the police and is now being rehabilitated at the Association for Promoting Social Action (APSA) shelter for such children.

Her story is not different from that of Meena, 13, and her 11-year-old sister, who were employed by the principal of Rubya Convent. They were abuses and beaten regularly. The girls have pinch marks all over their arms.

According to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) constituted under the Juvenile Justice Act, many IT (information technology) professionals also employ children as domestic help and mistreat them.

"We had summoned a couple, who were both working in Infosys and were guilty of employing a 14-year-old girl. They were asked to pay compensation to the child, which they did," said a CWC member.

The CWC has sought a response from companies including iGate, Ammos Tech, Wipro and Intel, whose employees were found to be exploiting children, with regard to having a policy against their employees using child labour.

According to Suchitra of UNICEF, which runs the Child Labour Elimination Programme, the first step in the rehabilitation of such children, post October 10, would be to launch awareness campaigns against domestic child labour with the help of the Government, especially in apartment complexes all over Bangalore.

Bridge school

Principal Secretary, Labour Department, K. Jothiramalingam, said a bridge school is being set up in Bangalore exclusively for rescued domestic child labourers, while apartments not employing children would be recognised.

Manjunath, Labour Commissioner, said, "We were conducting raids in the State to check domestic child labour even earlier under the Minimum Wages Act, and we will continue to do so after the October 10 guidelines come into place."

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