Tears of little use

Saturday 24th July, 2021

The police have gone into overdrive to get to the bottom of the tragic death of Ishalini, 16, who is believed to have committed self-immolation at SJB MP Rishad Bathiudeen’s residence. They arrested the MP’s wife and father-in-law yesterday over the incident. There have been demonstrations in some parts of the country, demanding justice for the victim.

Unfortunately, Ishalini’s death has come to be politicised. Perhaps, it would not have become a mega issue if her employer had not been MP Bathiudeen, embroiled in several other controversies. The government is using the girl’s death as a bludgeon against the SJB. It has taken moral high ground, demanding to know why the SJB is silent. True, the Opposition would have taken to the streets if the suspects concerned had been connected to the government. But no one must stoop so low as to make political capital out of the poor girl’s tragic end, which has shaken the conscience of the nation.

If the government politicians who are shedding copious tears for Ishalini are so considerate towards girls and women as they claim to be, will they explain why they did not demand action against a UPFA local government chairman who deflowered scores of women and girls and even celebrated his criminal acts by throwing parties during a previous Rajapaksa government. The late Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera publicly called upon the yahapalana government to take legal action against the rapist, but his call went unheeded, and the monster subsequently joined the SLFP, which was part of the so-called National Unity government, and is currently a constituent of the ruling SLPP coalition.

The government is said to be planning to raise the minimum age for domestic workers to 18. One cannot but agree that no one below this age should be allowed to work as domestic helpers. However, increasing the age limit alone will not help these workers who are exploited in every conceivable manner. Even some of those aged over 18 years suffer cruelty at the hands their employers. The need to enhance punishment for such offences cannot be overemphasised.

The problem of child labour is best stopped at source. Underage domestic workers mostly come from the families of plantation workers who earn meagre wages and live in abject poverty. Low literacy levels and lack of skills prevent most of the estate youth from being gainfully employed elsewhere, and it is not surprising that children in the plantation sector opt to work at a tender age. Ishalini also volunteered to work in Colombo because her family was up to its neck in debt, and loan sharks were threatening her parents.

There must be thousands of domestic helpers like Ishalini throughout the country, starving, slaving away and suffering sexual abuse. Let the ongoing campaign to have justice served for Ishalini, posthumously, be extended to achieve the emancipation of all these hapless children. It may not be difficult to trace them and ensure their return to their families, but who will feed and clothe them? Their families cannot do so, and that is why they have started working. The state will have to look after these children if it really wants to deliver them from suffering. There are various organisations championing child rights, and they must be willing to contribute to this worthy cause. The government may be able to enlist their support.

The best place for a child is his or her home. If the underage workers from the poor families are to return home, their families will have to be economically empowered. As for the plantation workers, their lot will have to be improved significantly through a state intervention to ensure that their wages are commensurate with their work. If children have enough food on the table and access to education, there will be no need for them to work. The tragic death of Ishalini and the suffering of other such children reflect the failure of the state to look after the poor.

The National Child Protection Policy has remained unimplemented for over two decades, as we reported the other day. So much for the concern of successive governments for children! The onus is on the incumbent government, which has so many bleary-eyed members within its ranks, making a public display of their love for children, to implement this vital policy urgently.