Hard labour still for child workers

New Delhi: There is less than a month left before the new ban on child labour comes into effect. But cases of abuse and torture of child labour continue unabated.

From October 10 it will be an offence to employ children younger than 14 years as domestic help.

For 12-year-old Ameena and her sister Sultana, life has been nothing short of a see-saw ride. The sisters were brought from Mumbai to Bangalore to work as domestic help, but they were allegedly abused and mistreated by their employer, a headmistress in a local school.

"All the household work was my responsibility," Ameena says.

"We used to give madam a foot massage, cook at night. She hit us with whatever she could lay her hand on," Sultana recalls.

But the story of Ameena and Sultana is not unique. There are hundreds of underage children across the country, who are employed as domestic help.

The bruises and burn marks on five-year-old Sasmita Dalai tell a similar tale. The child was brutally tortured by her employer Mahesh.

He had brought Samista to Delhi from her village in Orrisa just few months back on the promise that he'll take care of her education. But after the bitter lesson Mahesh gave her, Samista is now back with her mother. An FIR has been lodged against Mahesh.

"I was not naughty, I was told to do domestic work and if I did not do I was badly beaten with hot rod," Sasmita says.

Sasmita’s mother, Kuni Dalai was shocked to see her child after she returned and says, "Mahesh should be punished and if I do not get justice I will kill myself in front of the collector's office."

However, justice could come a little more easily for children like Samista, Ameena and Sultana with the government's move to ban child labour that will come into effect from October 10. Under the law, child labour employers could face imprisonment upto two years, besides a fine up to Rs 20,000.

(With Inputs from Jajati Karan, Priyanjana Dutta and Tejaswi Rathore.)

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