Study finds 45% of housemaids aged between 10-12, 26.5% below 10

On a group of housemaids covered by a study, 45.4% are aged between 10 and 12 and 26.4% are aged below 10 years.

Findings of the study, conducted by the Moroccan League of Children protection and the UNICEF, were made public at a conference on "girls and economic exploitation."

The study further found that most of the housemaids work all day long and are facing bad treatment without any legal protection.

The League acting chairwoman hoped that the labor code, under preparation, will include a legal provision to ensure to little housemaids a legal protection, raise the legal working age and sanction those who violate the law.

Other speakers at the conference deplored the various forms of exploitation against girls who work as housemaids, including economic and sexual exploitation, calling on all components of the Moroccan society to join efforts to guarantee the protection of children rights, ensure good working conditions and take legal action against those who violate the laws.

They also recommended the creation of a higher family council and called for regular controls of industrial plants, consolidation of the role of labor inspectors and encouraging the schooling of girls in the rural world.