Cabinet approved bill against employing children as domestic workers: Mazari

ISLAMABAD : The Federal Cabinet has approved a bill against the employment of children for domestic help across the country, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said. During her speech in the Senate on Friday, the minister said it will be implemented, once further work on the bill is completed. “Violence and mistreatment of children start from these households,” Mazari said, pointing out that the new bill is government’s attempt to bring an end to violence against children. In a meeting of the Human Rights Ministry on Thursday, a child labour law draft was demanded from the Interior Ministry. The draft will now include domestic child labour too. According to the new clause, any child under the age of 14 years can not be employed as domestic labour. If anyone is found violating the law, they will be punished.The development came after multiple child torture and abuse cases were reported from across the country. One such case was of the eight-year-old girl who was tortured to death by her employers, a Lahore couple, for flying a pet parrot. After the news came out, a campaign started on social media against the domestic employment of children. The government had also received backlash for its lack of laws on the issue.