Under-aged domestic workers

BANGLADESH has an estimated 20 lakh children domestic workers. Some of the employers of these children may be part of the policy making body for the labour ministry, which has left out children domestic work from the 38 very risky jobs for children.  
Their job description ranges from doing small shopping for the household to baby sitting and helping in the kitchen. They are often left alone at home, some of them locked from outside for security -- not security for the child worker but to protect the possessions of the employer.
There are risks in these situations, from fire hazards to kitchen related accidents. But no one is willing to recognise these risks because of the convenience they receive from child workers. Children are cheaper to hire than adult workers, they are easily disciplined and hold almost no voice for themselves. And our educated middle class is willing to look away from these small and big everyday violations of theirs by often giving the excuse that these children are getting a better life than they would otherwise in their village homes.
In the international standard child labour is of course a big 'no,' and we have a long way to go before complying with that standard. And the fact that our policy does not consider children domestic work as a risky job shows how far behind we are from the civilised standards of human rights.