RIGHT TO DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON IN RELATION TO ILL-TREATMENT OF HOUSE HELPS- BY EDIM E. EDIM ESQ.
It is settled in law that every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his or her person and as such MUST NOT be subjected to torture or degrading treatment,held in slavery and be required to perform or partake in forced or compulsory labour,etc.
This and many more, The Human Project has taken care of in her introductory post on right to dignity of the human person.
Today, we would be looking at how this human right can be viewed in relation to the way and manner we treat househelps, care givers, etc and withcraft allegations in contemporary Nigeria.But first, let me tell us a story.
Sometime in 2013, Affiong's parents passed on in a ghastly motor accident. Affiong who was fourteen years of age at the time, was rendered an orphan and being a young girl with UNFORTUNATE uncles and aunties, had no one to run to. Immediately the news of her Parents' death hit, a family meeting was called and amongst the topics of discussion, was who would take Affiong in and take care of her.
You would wonder whether the meeting was taking place in a cemetery because there was a pin-drop silence for about three minutes after the question was asked. It was obvious that none of the UNFORTUNATE uncles or aunties were willing to take Affiong into their homes. Like an object put up for auction without a bidder, Affiong became stranded!
Finally and in a rather reluctant (how we go do) manner, aunty Nkoyo opted to take Affiong with her to Lagos on the condition that if she ever misbehaves, she would not hesitate to return her. Being that there was no other person willing to take Affiong, the family had no choice but to accept the condition and warned young Affiong thus; "respect your aunty o", "make sure you do everything she asks you to do o", drawing her ears while sounding the warnings.
The day Affiong arrived aunty Nkoyo's house, was the day she signed her death warrant. It dawned on little Fifi that she was brought to Lagos as a "glorified slave". Her first encounter with slavery was five days after her arrival, when Aunty Nkoyo ran a hot iron on her breast.
Her offence was allowing the food to burn while feeding aunty Nkoyo's baby. The wound on Affiong's breast was left unattended to for over one week and when finally treated,was done by a good Samaritan doctor(neighbor).
That was not the end of Affiong's problems. In fact, it was just the beginning. Several reports were sent by neighbors to family members who turned a blind eye to little Fifi's plight. She was finally surrendered into the hands of aunty Nkoyo and left at her mercy.
Then the day came! The day which would be Affiong's last encounter. On this day, Affiong who was washing clothes at the balcony of the storey building, did not notice that aunty Nkoyo's daughter (whom she put to bed and was soundly asleep), had woken up and walked to the balcony and was attempting to put her legs through the railings. Aunty Nkoyo returned almost immediately and upon sighting her daughter, accused Fifi of intentionally putting her daughter at risk to the point that she almost fell from the balcony.
Despite pleas from Affiong and neighbors, aunty Nkoyo pushed Affiong down from the balcony of the two storey building to the floor.
The rest is history now as Affiong is chilling in a grave beside her parents at their family compound.
The degrading treatments meted on Affiong is even nothing compared to what relatives, maids, househelps, face in several homes in Nigeria and arround the world. One would stop to wonder what good comes out of such inhumane treatment?
A while ago, social media was awash with a picture of a mother with her two kids and a househelp at an eatery. The picture showed the mother having lunch with her kids and munching large chicken parts whereas the "spectator" maid watched on. Invariably, watching a "chicken eating" game.
Before we ask what the government is doing about it, let's first ask ourselves what we have done about it. What have you done about the situation of that girl or boy who is constantly maltreated by your neighbor? Have you informed the Police? Are you covering up that your brother, husband or son who constantly molests that little girl staying with you? What about reporting to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare? Are you among the "it's not my business" category? or the "na her family person... wetin concern me" category? What about you...when will you stop maltreating that your househelp, niece or nephew? Why do you make it a yearly resolution that your stepchildren must pass through intense physical and mental suffering? O wrong nau! Can we do better? Of course we can do better! The work is for you and I.
Unfortunately, while Police, NAPTIP officials and Human Rights activists are working to curb the abuse of maids, Nigerian laws regarding the minimum age of employment are inconsistent, according to a U.S Labor Department Report. Whereas the Child Rights Act prohibits those under 18 from working, the Labor Act in a rather 'funny' turn of events, sets the minimum age of employment at 12. According to the U.S Labor Department Report, this is regrettably the world's worst child labor!
However, Nigeria has amended it's trafficking laws to increase penalties for offenders and criminalize the employment of children under 12 in domestic labor. Activists hope that this move will give authorities greater power to crackdown on criminals.
WAY FORWARD
I strongly feel that the norm of "out of court settlement" in cases of abuse of househelps, maids, kids, etc, should be completely taken off the table and there should be a stronger drive to ensure that abusers are prosecuted and dealt with appropriately. What kind of settlement would a family possibly do out of court that would bring back the sight of a boy whom pepper was poured into his eyes?
What other thing do you think can be done to curb this menace?
Please tell us what you think in the comment section.
See you next week, when we will discuss witchcraft allegations.
I strongly feel a strict law should be put in place and implemented with fear or favor. The victims of these abuses are human beings as well and should be treated as such, not like a piece of garbage. It's unfair now, like literally!
ReplyDeleteVery true. I strongly share your view.💪
DeleteI agree to a strict Law in place.
ReplyDeleteLet’s break down the root cause. There is no social service or welfare for an average Nigerian child. This simply means that they kids are left to all and sundry. The only hope of getting a partial education is with relatives and the likes. Most low or no income earners breed more kids than they can ever cater for and it is a big big problem.
Aside from strict Law to punish offending guardians, there is a need to set up a parastatal that handles the placement of kids in homes and also checking up on their well being. We know for a fact that Nigeria cannot provide such social network at least not now.
Even with the setting up of the parastatal Will the public servants do their jobs properly?
At the end, our value for human life and protection of a persons dignity is very poor around here.
Thank you so much for your input. I completely agree that an existent and WORKING social welfare system for an average Nigerian child is the way to go. On that part, we have a really long way to go. I however believe we can still get there.
DeleteOn the issue of civil servants doing their jobs, me thinks it is a case of absolute moral decay and lack of regard for life. Unfortunately, we can't throw away the baby with the bath water. All we can do is keep up the awareness and shove it down their throats till they CHOKE on it.
I'm aware the lawgical arena is also at the forefront of this massive awareness drive. Keep up the good work!
Nice read you put up there. There's a lot to be done. And the primordial, I believe, is massive orientation; it's actually long overdue seeing the moral and societal decadence that abounds around us.
ReplyDeleteWe must begin to understand that every child is the responsibility of the community, and not that of the biological/surrogate parents alone. (That's how most of us grew up to understand welfare before the turn of the the 21st century).
We're all culpable in this regard, maybe indirectly, but culpable all the same when we turn a blind eye to a neighbour maltreating a child. It's on us to report such to the nearest/relevant authorities. But, that cab never be achieved until we differentiate between being responsible and being a telltale is defined as touching this subject.
Apt boss! Very apt! It couldn't have been said better. The person that turns a blind eye is the same as the one that perpetrates the abuse.
DeleteThanks for your input sir.