A recent news story has stunned us all: the death of a 15-year-old domestic worker, Preeti Urang, who fell from the eighth-floor residence of The Daily Star's Executive Editor Syed Ashfaqul Haque. Around six months ago, on August 6, 2023, nine-year-old Ferdausi, another domestic helper in that household, fell out of the same balcony. Even though Ferdausi did not die, she was severely injured.

These two similar incidents occurred in the house of a person employed at a newspaper that is not only one of the leading newspapers in Bangladesh, but one that expresses commitment towards upholding all kinds of human rights and is vocal against all sorts of discrimination and oppression. So, as these incidents happened at the house of one of The Daily Star's most senior members, they raise some serious questions.

The government continually talks about the country's impressive GDP growth, especially in the last decade or so—along with the significant rise of GDP per capita. At the same time, we have seen an increase in the number of child labourers, particularly in Dhaka, as well as the number of children begging on the streets. Most places where child labourers are being employed are dangerous. For example, we see them working daily in the transportation sector and doing other temporary work on the streets. They are found working in the most physically hazardous factories such as plastic and steel ones. They also work in small restaurants. Children are seen working on the streets of Kamalapur Railway Station, Sayedabad Bus Terminal, Sadarghat Launch Terminal, etc. Low wages, overall insecurity of life and livelihood, helplessness, lack of shelter—these are all major parts of their lives. Among these child labourers, we see girls as well. We know that these child labourers don't have a place to stay, enough to eat, secure families, and are often victims of sexual harassment and human trafficking. They are even used as instruments in the drug trafficking business.

So, what is the reason behind so many children working or living on the streets? It is because a large portion of the Bangladeshi population cannot afford to sustain their families or their lives financially, while living with their children. People's income levels are so low that they cannot eat properly and take care of their children. Families are breaking apart looking for sources of income to sustain lives. The main victims of this are children. They are being scattered and separated from their parents.

A lot of these children are admitted to schools early on. But after perhaps Class 5 or 6, they cannot continue their studies anymore because they are sent somewhere for work. As their parents can no longer bear their financial responsibilities, it is the parents who send these children away. We know about the Hashem Foods factory incident a few years back—which caught fire, leading to 54 workers being killed. After seeing the government's usual dilly-dallying, we formed a public inquiry committee and found that most of the workers in that factory were child labourers, aged between 14 and 16 years. They all used to go to school, but had to stop going because their parents could not bear their living or educational expenses. The wages they were being paid were also significantly low. The children were killed because the factory did not have sufficient safety measures in place.

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Editor’s note to readers

Many people in the country advocate against child labour. There are also national and international laws that are supposed to protect them. But due to the core reasons mentioned, child labour could not be eradicated. These children don't go to work willingly; they work in order to survive. So, to stop child labour, the general living standards have to be improved. The minimum wage has to be increased, so that parents can be financially secure enough to take care of their children.

At present, as child labourers join the workforce, we lack laws and safety measures to protect them. This must change.

A big percentage of these child labourers work in households as domestic helpers. Often, the children who work in these households are tortured, sometimes so severely as to cause their death. Then, there is the aspect of sexual harassment. Young girls working as child labourers are often victims of sexual harassment. And when news of any sexual harassment in these cases comes to light, the perpetrator often goes unpunished. Instead, the victim is blamed and sent away.

In the case of Preeti Urang's death, we don't really know the whole story of what happened. Why did she fall from the eighth floor, and why did something like this happen before?

— Anu Muhammad

We also have to consider that these domestic helpers are children. They want to go home to their parents. They want to play outside and spend time with other children. Often, they cannot bear the slave-like work pressure and torture of their employers; sometimes they try to run away.

We can look back at the story of Yasmin in 1995, who used to work in Dhaka. At one point, out of frustration, she tried to run away, back to her home in Dinajpur. Before reaching her mother, when she got off the bus near her home, some policemen picked her up in a police vehicle. She was a child, around 14 years old. Yasmin was raped and murdered. This resulted in a huge protest. Yasmin is a symbol of how dreadful the situation can be for child workers. Even when they try to run away, be saved from torture, or even go back to their families, they can still become victims.

In the case of Preeti Urang's death, we don't really know the whole story of what happened. Why did she fall from the eighth floor, and why did something like this happen before? If we look at Preeti's identity, we find three aspects. First is the class question. She came from a family that is in the lower income bracket, which is an exploited class. Then, there is the aspect of her ethnicity. Preeti came from an ethnic minority group which is often oppressed. Lastly, there is the question of gender. As a female child labourer, Preeti must have faced even more risks.

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Preeti Urang’s Death: Ashfaqul, wife placed on 4-day remand

Yes, the police have arrested the accused, there is a case going on, and the accused have been placed on remand. But we cannot fully rely on the legal system, as we know how it works. We know about the journalist couple Sagar-Runi's murder case, filed in 2012, has not yet been solved. In 2013, Taqi was murdered and has yet to get justice. Tonu was raped and murdered, but no justice has been served for her. That is why the role of The Daily Star itself, along with citizens, writers, and other organisations which have a commitment in this regard, is crucial. There should be protests, and a strong stance should be taken against such incidents. The Daily Star must make its position transparent. It has a good record of doing in-depth investigations, so why not here? The Daily Star has a big responsibility to investigate what happened, to find out who is responsible for this incident, and to take a strong position against them. If The Daily Star fails to take the right position in this case, it will lead to a huge credibility crisis for the whole organisation. We stand for Preeti, we want justice, and we cannot provide any concessions to those responsible for her suffering and the untimely end of her life.

Anu Muhammad is former professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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