Despite the clamoring for the rights of the girl child in particular and women in general, women, especially wife’s, are identified to be the worse perpetrators of abuses against their house helps more than the men.
This acts, according to gender activist and Proprietress of Gyanwa Foundation Education Complex at Gomoa Afransi in the Central Region, Mrs. Vida Odoom sometimes stem from the relationship between the househelp and the mistress, the mistress and the husband, the househelp and the man, or in most cases the circumstance under which the househelp was brought into the house.
Speaking to Ghananews.com, Mrs. Odoom, hinted that most mistresses always consider their househelps to be witches and therefore responsible for every problem in the house, and this she attributed to negative cultural beliefs and norms.
According to her, the life of the entire household depends mostly on the househelp, and as such any wicked househelp who is treated badly by her mistress could do the unthinkable to the family.
She has therefore advocated for terms and conditions to be set by institutions such as the Social Welfare to safeguard the wellbeing of children whose services are contracted as househelps.
She mentioned compulsory education of househelps by their masters, provision of three square meals a day, shelter, clothing and salary for househelps, as they provide employable services to the homes they find themselves in.
Mrs. Odoom however called for the policy such as Birth Control to be introduced to help curtail the problem of unwanted pregnancies which ends some children in others peoples homes where they are treated as slaves.
By: Robert Ayanful