Faisalabad: Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) observed International Women's Day 2024 on UN theme’s the 'Inspire Inclusion', with domestic workers. The event was conducted at Vision Hall Faisalabad for raising the issues of target groups and joint efforts to combat the challenges ensuring ‘inclusive societies’.

HRFP highlighted the hardships of domestic workers that can only be addressed with solutions, through empowering women, investing in women, equality of women and participation of women. The women’s inclusions could only be a smoother way towards safer, healthier, and equal world in all aspects achieving 17 SDGs and agenda 2030, HRFP added.

Naveed Walter president of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) said, the domestic workers particularly the housemaids are the easier targets of physical, sexual, psychological, and verbal abuses in Pakistan. He said the house maids abuse stories with different names & faces but with same facts comes through daily. The minor maids are the easiest targets of abuse as have seen in recent incident of Rizwana aged 14 who have been working at a civil judge house in Islamabad and have revealed in hundreds other cases with same patterns.

Naveed Walter said, the ILO’s recent report is enough to understand the situation of minor girls abusing that one in every four households employs a child in domestic work; predominantly girls aged 10 to 14 years, he added.

A resource person of HRFP’s event James Lal said the domestic workers and housemaids belonging to Christian community who do that work for supporting their families face multiple violations during work being minor girls and Christian. The maids belonging to lower income backgrounds when face the grave violations at workplaces they and families kept silent who even can’t imagine how their fundamental human rights and a child labor laws they have, had breached. James Lal conducted different exercises, questioning-answering, learning-sharing and making sure the next generations of house maids will do studies, learn skills as well to make a break from same jobs their mother and grandmother have been doing, he added.

Nida Naeem (HRFP) said the collective efforts could only make a change in society and a more inclusive world leaving no one behind including the domestic workers, to achieving 17 SDGs targeting agenda 2030. Nida Naeem said thanks to celebrate and participate in observing women’s day showing your commitment for joint efforts to women’s rights, she added.  

Shadman John (HRFP), Hamdosh Samuel (HRFP) with John Victor (Educationist /Author)), Nusrat Samuel (Social Workers), Sonika Bibi, Parveen Akhtar and domestic workers also addressed; demanding women's economic empowerment, supporting them into leadership, decision-making, business, health, and STEM, involving them in sustainable agriculture and food security, providing them access to quality education and trainings for achievements in sport, for promoting their creative and artistic talent, addressing further areas supporting the advancement of women and girls, the speakers added.

At the end HRFP shared through the speaking and brochures that if someone victimized, they could call through HRFP’s REAT Helpline (toll free number 0800-09494) at HRFP office for immediate assistance.