Ezhilarasi. M, B.SC LLB, LLM, Department of Human Rights and Duties Education, Chennai
ABSTRACT
Untouchability and discrimination on the grounds of caste, religion, and sex are prohibited by law but still it is in practice in many ways. In India many of the jobs are divided on the basis of caste and religion. Manual scavenging is a kind of job which is divided in the base of caste. It is the job of collection and cleaning of untreated human excreta from private/public dry toilets, open drains and septic tanks etc. Most of the people in this job are from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. They remove the untreated human excreta from toilets with bare hands and without safety gears which is dangerous and hazards to the scavenger as well as their family.
In 1993, the EMPLOYMENT OF MANUAL SCAVENGERS AND CONSTRUCTION OF DRY LATRINES (Prohibition) ACT, banned the employment of people as manual scavengers. In 2013, THE PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENTS AS MANUAL SCAVENGERS AND THEIR REHABILITATION ACT, reinforce this ban by prohibiting manual scavenging in all forms and ensures the rehabilitation of manual scavengers came into existence with strict rules. Even after the enactment of these Acts, 48,345 manual scavengers have been spotted in affiliation with this hazardous occupation as per the national survey escorted in 18 states of the country. In the four years till June 30, 2022, total 188 deaths due to manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks were recorded in 19 states and Union Territories as per the government data of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
A human who removes the untreated human excreta of others with bare hands is a job but in truth its human rights violation and is inhumane. Manual scavenging is a death trap which has been practiced still now. No one wants to do these kinds of jobs in their life willingly. The question may arise then is “why people doing this job”. This paper answers this question and it also highlights the need for changing the underlying beliefs and laws related to manual scavenging with some hard facts about manual scavenging with some data analysis, statistics and overviews.
Keywords: Manual Scavenging, violation of human rights, issues and challenges.
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