Chronicle Editor
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Chronicle Reporter
AT 15, Nothando Moyo* from Lupane is a domestic worker in Bulawayo after dropping out of school in 2020 upon completing her Grade 7.
Her parents did not have money for her to proceed with her education. She spent the whole of last year seated at home while her peers continued with school. Early this year her sister aged 20 who is also a domestic worker suggested that Nothando also had to seek employment to assist in fending for the family.
Her father and mother gave their blessing.
“I work at a house in Cowdray Park Suburb in Bulawayo as a domestic worker. My sister is the one who got this job for me and she advised my parents. They agreed that I could work and they also said it was a noble idea as I might end up falling pregnant if I continued being at home without anything tangible to do or to keep me occupied,” she said.
“My chores involve cleaning the house, washing clothes for the family I work for, taking care of three children who are at primary school, cooking and other chores done by a house helper. After completing my Grade 7, my father who is now retired told me that he couldn’t afford to send me for secondary education, so I dropped out of school.”
The number of teenagers below 18 years old who are now domestic workers continues to increase. After dropping out of school due to various reasons the youngsters, mostly girls are seeking employment in towns and big cities. Most are doing this with the knowledge of their parents and their guardians.
Most do it to assist their families realise an income while others do it to keep themselves occupied.
16-year-old Florence Dube* from Nkayi said she decided to seek domestic work as she had grown tired of staying at home.
“I dropped out of school after completing Grade 7. My parents suggested that I should not proceed to Form 1 because we don’t have a secondary school close by. At first I was just seated at home but then I decided to look for a job to keep myself occupied. I send some of the money I earn to my parents, while I use the rest to buy my personal stuff,” she said.
According to the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) 2021 Rural Livelihoods Assessment Report, 23 percent of children within the school going age are not going to school.
The report states that the major reasons why children are not in school included financial constraints, pregnancies, early marriages and children being considered too young.
Other reasons why children were not in school included illness, lack of interest in school and long distances to school.
Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR), co-ordinator Mr Khumbulani Maphosa said there were various reasons why youngsters were working at a tender age. He said some were being pushed by poverty while others were doing it out of peer pressure.
Mr Maphosa said others were doing it because of bad parenting. He said also with teenage pregnancies on the increase the teenage mothers seek employment in order to fend for their children.
Mr Maphosa said whatever the reason may be parents and guardians had to take the first step in protecting their children from being victims of child labour.
“Rural poverty is very high at the moment and some people in the rural areas still feel that the urban areas is a place of opportunities. Some youngsters will come to seek employment to extricate the family from poverty. Ideally the parents and older children are supposed to be the ones who come to seek employment in the urban areas but they can’t because industries are closed. So the only person who can get a job is the one who can do domestic work,” he said.
“There are some parents who still don’t value educating the girl child fearing that the children will fall pregnant. Therefore the parents see it best for a child to seek employment as a domestic worker and bring in money rather than wasting their money educating a child that might fall pregnant. Some children find jobs just because they want to be admired within the community and to make a statement.”
He said some of these children get jobs through their parents who will be trying to avoid the responsibility of taking care of them and the responsibility of reprimanding the minors.
Mr Maphosa said there was a need to cultivate the responsible parenting kind of approach among guardians while children also need to be taught how to be responsible. He said the rights of some of the children are being violated by their employers who will be taking advantage of them.
“Parents have to take a lead in protecting their children so that they are not exploited. Some of these teenagers are being exploited sexually and economically by their employers. Some of them are underpaid or not being paid at all while others are being used for ritual practices. Some of them are being loaded with too much work just because they are children and they can’t stand their ground. Parents should protect their children instead of throwing them to the wolves,” he said.
Mr Maphosa said there was also need for Government to extend the safety net for the vulnerable and poor and increase the services available for the poor.
He said school development committees had to come up with means to sustain operations of schools and stop depending on fees and levies which end up being a hindrance for children to access education. Mr Maphosa said there was also a need for a system to protect domestic workers.
The director of Restoration of Hope, a non-profit organisation in Bulawayo, Mr Clive Simango said while some of these children would be physically trained in domestic work at their homes they were not mentally and socially prepared to assume these roles.
He said children had to go through all stages of development in their lives as jumping a stage could later haunt them.
“Some of these children that are being employed will be coming from the rural areas and they will not be having experience in town life which becomes a burden for them. At the age of 15 or 16 a child should be allowed to go through school and grow up as a child and not assume the burden of running a household. The employers of these children also have a role in protecting them. They must not exploit them and see them as a source of cheap labour,” Mr Simango said.
*Not real name
— @DubeMatutu
Online Reporter