Pakistan: The anomalies of poverty

As if poverty is not enough of an enemy of childhood, torture and even murder is added to snatch away even the right to live. Two domestic workers, a minor and a teenager, died from torture in Lahore within a gap of two days. The 16-year-old Azra was allegedly gang raped and later killed by her employers, while 10-year-old Irum was beaten to death to make her confess that she had stolen her employer’s money. Both the girls were live-ins and depended on their employers for protection. The girls were supporting their parents back home to beat poverty that has increased manifold in Pakistan, creating inequalities and violence in society. The destitute do not belong to this world perhaps, because any behavior to treat them is considered acceptable while the law rarely wakes up to rescue them from the powerful. For the last couple of years, since the media has grown, stories of torture meted out to domestic workers by their employers have been given considerable space on TV and in newspapers. The issue, though old, suddenly became relevant and a few organizations, especially those working for human rights, exhorted the government to find a permanent solution to the problem. The matter however did not move out of the domain of agitation and a few emotional discourses in the public space. Those involved in treating their domestic workers like animals or worse were allowed to walk free, with no sign of guilt on their conscience. No employer has been convicted.

The judicial system may be silent over the issue of mistreating domestic workers. This makes the government responsible to round up anyone bypassing or overriding the law by violating the fundamental rights of citizens. But that was not to be. And with no respite from the government in sight in the foreseeable future, the only solace left to these domestic workers lies in their getting unified and standing together, either in the form of unions or representative bodies to stem the use of violence against them. This sense of collective responsibility would eventually also help shake the legislators out of their slumber and compel them to make the required laws or kick-start the existing ones by punishing the accused. The rub lies in the inability of the law to take its natural course. The matter in such cases hardly proceeds further from a few appearances in court, and then it is business as usual. This attitude begs for change to make a difference.