Child Domestic Labor
Public- Private and Formal – Informal
Dichotomies or
Children under Torture
Conference Organised by SPARC
October 29 2011
Profiling
Child Domestic Labor (CDL)
• Case of CDL -invisible and gendered dimensions
• CDL is worst forms of child labor (ILO C: 182)but
not accepted in Pakistan as such - who resists?
• CDL a multi-sectoral comprehensive violation of
rights under CRC (best interests; protection,
family, identity, health, nutrition, education and
recreation)
• CDL and the informal sector- eluding laws and
monitoring
Case of CDL -its invisible and gendered
dimensions
• Study after study highlights (UNICEF 2008, ILO
2006; SPARC 2005, 2010; ,SAHIL 2011, PIDE
2005) point towards :
– Invisible dimension of child domestic labor
– Gendered dimension of CDL- the girl child
– Across socio-economic classes dimension of CDL
– Low paid dimension of CDL
– Informal nature of labor –unregistered
– Private-Public dichotomy of CDL – a private affair !
– Violence Against Girl Child Dimension of CDL
Profiling CDL
• Needs little skills, training and education thus very low
paid and considered a ‘subsidiary activity ‘ with little
value at all '
• CDL more common among girls in South Asian
countries compared (90% are girls)
• CDL found in homes across all classes – demand is huge
due to low wages & informal/unregistered nature.
• CDL increases in emergencies/conflicts/displacement
• CDL cannot stand alone, but case is strengthened
alongside the linked issue of domestic workers (largest
in number), invisible, gendered/femization, low paid,
and not categorised as ‘workers’ ( Shahid 2007)
Children in CDL – How?
• Cheated and lured through false promises by recruiters : who could be: family
member, friend or employer
• Through migration from rural to urban areas
• Through Parents or guardians seek employment or place their children into debt
bondage : Difficult to differentiate between a relative, a broker or a trafficker.
• Through contacts of immediate or distant relatives to have food, clothes and
shelter provided to the child as payment for services
• Through labour bureaus or street agencies with brokerage fees and transport
other costs that leave the child eternally indebted to them.
• Through terms of “false adoption”…giving impression that the child has been
adopted in the family, but the child is exploited as free labour..hardest to reach
under the pretence of being part of the family.
• In India/(and Pakistan), children are sometimes given for domestic labour as
part of “Shreedhan” (dowry) along with clothes, kitchen utensils and
furniture1. CDLs to be ‘things’ or a possession ..used as one pleases.(D’Sami, V.)
•
Collusion of : Workplace, Community & Home overlapping dimensions
The Story of Nasreen
• “My Father forcefully brought me to work as domestic labor.
I must have been 10 years old. I told my father many times
that I am being tortured by the employer’s family but he did
not take any notice. I have never been to school. No one
thought about my happiness and sorrows. I expressed this
interest to my father that I want to go to school but he did
not notice of my desire. My vision is to study and become a
doctor.
• “I used to work like a machine, washing utensils, clothes and
sweeping. I don’t know how much they were paying to my
father for my services”
• Nasreen sorrowfully shared this information –(Child Protection Bureau –
CBP 2009)
The Story of Fatima
•
•
•
“My aunt Khursheed brought me to the house for work. “All family members of the
employer were treating me like an animal. Begum Sahiba would awake me at 5.am
in the morning beating me up with plastic pipes. She used to abuse me and
thrashed me on little mistakes. I used to work from 5.am to 12:00am but some time
till 2:00 a.m…my meals was scanty .. few pieces of bread with left over gravy only
once a day. If I asked for food, they gave me a slap saying that this is your lunch or
diner. I had been sleeping under the stairs in such hot weather with out bedding.
The family even threw boiled water on my body for minor mistakes. They were only
paying 500 rupees as wage used by my family”
My main duties were washing utensils, washing clothes and sweeping. I found no
one there who could have saved me from torture. No one heard my screaming. One
day our neighbors, after hearing my screams called the police. When the police
rescue team arrived, the employer’s family locked me in the bathroom.
The police arrested Mr. Sheikh Iftkhar head of the household of the employer’s
family. I was afterwards taken to court with the team of Child Protection Welfare
Bureau, Lahore. Here, I am also getting medication and now my scars are getting
better.” Fatima’s own words
CDL Continuum:
8 Faces of Violence & Work
Zones of Violence in Child Domestic Labor (CDL) Low to High
ILO & UNICEF Communication Strategy on CDL 2006
Deaths & CDL 2010.. Violence continues..
• Ms. Shazia Masih (12 years old girl, Arya Nagar,
Islampura, Lahore, Punjab)
• Ms. Yasmin (15 years old girl, District Okara, Punjab)
• Mr. Shahzad (14 years old boy, District Gujranwala,
Punjab)
• Ms. Tania (18 years old girl Lahore, Punjab)
• Ms. Kausar (16 years old girl, Lahore, Punjab)
• Ms. Firdous (Sahiwal, Punjab)
- Sexual Violence, Rape and General Violence on a daily basis
How many more CDL deaths to convince us ?
CDL - Constitution & Law
• Article 3 of the Pakistan Constitution calls for the
elimination of exploitation and ensures the elimination
of all forms of exploitation and the general fulfillment
of the fundamental principle, from each according to
his ability to each according to his work.
• Article 11 of the Pakistan Constitution prohibits
slavery and forced labour, and trafficking. Article 11
(3) of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan states that no
child below the age of fourteen shall be engaged in
any factory or mine or any other hazardous
employment.
• Article 25 – A of the Constitution - Right to Education
Article 25 AEducation As a Fundamental Right
• 18th amendment 2010 Act made education a fundamental right
for the first time in Pakistan
• Article 25-A states that
“The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all
children of the age of five and to sixteen years in such manner
as may be determined by law”
• Major opportunity for the citizens & children of Pakistan for
claiming entitlements through quality learning
• Use this age group (5-16) to define the age of child labor not
ILO Convention 138 & Employment Children’s Act (ECA) 1991
• Little action by the government in making the law… & little
urgency by citizens in claiming the law for RTE under 25 A
• How can we push this forward to address the larger problem
of child labor and vulnerable children ?
Employment of Children Act 1991
• CDL not declared as hazardous occupation and not banned
under the Employment of Children Act (ECA) 1991- 34
processes & 4 occupations are declared hazardous but not CDL
• ECA under section 3 allows CDL. “No child shall be employed or
permitted to work in any of the occupations set forth in Part I of
the Schedule or in any workshop wherein any of the process set
forth in Part II is carried on: Provided that nothing in this section
shall apply to any establishment wherein such process is carried
on by the occupier with the help of his family or to any school
established, assisted or recognized by Government.”
• Under ECA “(iii) “child” means a person who had not completed his fourteen
year of age; (vii) “family” in relation to an occupier, means the individual, the
wife or husband, as the case may, of such individual, and their children,
brother or sister of such individual; (viii) “occupier” in relation to an
establishment, means the person who had the ultimate control over the
affairs of the establishment.
National Laws
• Article 4 of the Bonded Labour System Act 1992
of Pakistan abolishes the bonded labour system.
• The Pakistan Penal Code punishes the
procurement of a minor child under Section 366A. It provides a penalty for the importation of girl
from foreign country and Section 373 addresses
the buying of minor for purposes of prostitution.
• The Children Pledging of Labour Act 1933
established an agreement to pledge the labour of
a child void.
National Laws
• Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) 1860, all acts taken against
the child are considered offence but not under the
section 89 in which the PPC allows the guardians or
other person having lawful charges of the child
(under the age of twelve) to beat or punish in the
benefit of the child.
• Internal trafficking of person within the country is
not covered under any of the laws in PakistanTrafficking common on CDL – middlemen/women
abound, including posh domestic labor agencies.
International Laws
• In the framework of the Minimum Age Convention 138 and
the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 18219 the ILO
recognizes three categories of child labour that must be
abolished:
• All work done by children under the minimum legal age for
that type of work, as defined by national legislation in
accordance with international standards
• Work that endangers the health, safety and morals of a child,
either because of the nature of the work or because of the
conditions under which it is performed
• Unconditional worst forms of child labour, defined as slavery,
trafficking, bonded labour, forced recruitment into armed
conflict, prostitution, pornography or illegal activities such as
the sale and trafficking of drugs
International Laws
• Three conventions, Convention 138, the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Convention
182, form the basis for the protection of child domestic
labour.
• The conditions set forth in the three conventions are
based on the effect of the work or activity on the child
and the child’s development.
• The work should not be hazardous or harmful to the
child’s health or physical, mental, moral, or social
development. In addition, for children of primaryschool age, the work or activity should not interfere
with the child’s education.
International Conventions – Govt. as
Signatory & Obligated
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•
•
•
Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC)
Education For All (EFA) 6 Goals
Millennium development Goals (2-3)
Convention against Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
• SAARC Social Charter
Obligations on Reporting & Implementation
- Government Reporting vs. Shadow Reporting
- The former is often delayed and defensive
Examining the Case of CDL –
customary practices and laws
• Patriarchal /feudal/ideological societies encourage ,
commodification, bondage, exploitation as a norm, reinforced
religion – the girl child most vulnerable (but boys too)
• Minorities discrimination, family bonded labor and trends of
CDL within that make the trends very violent and tragic
• Customary practices backed by inter-generational
interpretation of religion, tradition and identity
• Formal laws and interplay of customs and traditions – parallel
legal systems – formal laws hardly win .. Lower courts the
weakest – actions to be sought from higher courts by child
rights activists and organizations
• Weak governance structures at all levels unable to implement
formal laws and monitoring mechanism – chronic gaps of
implementation -
Recommendations - Policy
Recommendations
• Implementation of 25- A Right To Education
backed by appropriate laws – onus on the state
primarily and then duty bearers
• Resource allocation to education must be
enhanced to 4% (current 1.5%)
• A clear percentage of education budget to
compensatory programs allocated to the most
vulnerable including – child labor and CDL to
cover all related costs through stipends:
(uniforms, transport, stationary etc. )
Communication
Protection & Legislation
Campaign Against CDL as a Worst
Form of Child Labor & RTE
• A nationwide campaign needs to be put in place under the
Child Rights Movement (CRM).. Declaring CDL as worst forms
of Child Labor and banned under ECA 1991
• Research more rigorous and on annual basis on CDL: trends
• CDL to be a distinct provision in the upcoming laws for 25 A –
RTE in all provinces and federal areas
• Campaigns of CRM and RTE must join hands as a powerful
alliance for ending violence against children and CDL through
compulsory violence free education
• Endorsed by strategic alliances and stakeholders including
teacher unions, political parties, trade unions- home net
/women workers unions , NGO alliances and the MEDIA.
• Ending CDL – A Call for Action Action & Action…NOW!