Mokokchung, 18 October (MTNews): The Eastern Nagaland Women Organization (ENWO) has reaffirmed that, except for educational purposes, no child from Eastern Nagaland should be sent for domestic help in accordance with ENWO guidelines. ENWO earlier in 2021 first resolved this.
The ENWO’s statement comes in response to reported cases of physical abuse of Eastern Naga children by homeowners where these children have been placed for domestic work. The organization also warned that no Eastern Naga children should be kept as domestic helpers, adding that several of the Naga children from the eastern tribes are kept as a domestic helper under the guise of educating them.
ENWO said that parents from the region often send their children away from home in the hope of getting their children a better education but many never have the opportunity to attend school and several of them are kept as domestic helpers.
In order to protect the children from child labor, exploitation, and violence, the ENWO directed all eastern federating units and village councils to strictly adhere to the guidelines issued by the organization. These guidelines stress that parents must not send their children to live with other families outside their village without the prior consent of the village council.
“The tribal unit of the respective area must be informed, and registration with the parents and the family where the child is intended to stay is mandatory,” it said.
ENWO also informed legal action under the Child Labor Act will be initiated against any individual or family found keeping the children from the eastern tribes without proper registration.
Further, if a child is abused by the homeowner in any manner, the organization will take strong action against the offender in addition to pursuing legal remedies, it cautioned.
ENWO also mentioned that the Indian Child and Adolescent Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act 1986, amended in 2016, defines a child as any person below the age of 14 and explicitly prohibits the employment of a child in any capacity, including domestic help.