A news report by Human Rights Watch has concluded that a huge number of girl workers in Guinea are being abused as domestic workers, said BBC News. The report says that many of the girls have been forced into working for up to 18 hours a day for no remuneration. Instances of physical abuse have also been reported. The girls live in pathetic conditions, almost as slaves, many of them are the victims of human trafficking as well.
The problem, according to Human Rights Watch, is not specific to Guinea. It also admits that nothing much is being done, hardly any efforts exist to solve this problem on a large scale.
Research work in Guinea has pointed out the lack of education among thousands of girls in Guinea. Their deprivation is not only from education, but they have also been deprived from enjoying their childhood. Many girls in Guinea have been forced into doing housework all along their childhood and adolescence. They often do cleaning, washing, babysitting without any pay.
Sexual mistreat is an issue among these girls in Guinea. They have been repeatedly exposed to sexual abuse and often been beaten by whips, electric chords and sticks.
The lack of education, according to the report, is the primary cause of these girls being so helplessly cornered in a system of continuous exploitation. Poverty is the other vice to look for in this region. Child Labor has taken a hideous shape principally due to the extreme poverty existent among the masses.
Majority of the employers in Guinea are women from the urban middle class. They procure young girls as maid servants from their poorer relatives or through an intermediary from the countryside. A truly ironic situation indeed. When women are the victims of women themselves we seem to lose faith in solidarity, in the fight against chauvinism in a male-dominated society.
A news report by Reuters said that some of the girls in Guinea being enslaved, beaten and raped are as young as eight years old. Among these girls some have been trafficked from West Africa. No child protection system exists there and abuse of minors is rarely punished.
A 15 year old Guinea girl was interviewed by the Human Rights Watch, who said.
When she is gone, her husband wakes me up and rapes me. He has threatened me with a knife and said I must not tell anyone. He does it each time his wife travels. I am scared.
The Human Rights Watch feels that the Guinea Government should be more concerned about this issue and should definitely prioritize the task of providing protection to the victims.
But unfortunately, the new government in Guinea seems to be challenged in lots of other ways as well, resulting from the history of anarchy and poverty in Guinea. This issue seems too humble to be considered at the moment.
The situation in Guinea is not a conspicuous one. It rather represents the bigger picture, the reality in most of the underdeveloped countries. In a world which has seen women travel to space and run countries, we should really be seeing this issue as an insult to humanity.
Image Credit: Unicef
