Putul's death is a case of murder and this family should be caught, tried and given the maximum punishment under the law; hanged if need be. But what has happened to Putul should be a case for our conscience. We all employ domestic help in Bangladesh and behave more or less the same way as this family who killed Putul, only in our case we stop short of the actual killing. Most of us who read newspapers and happen to live in Dhaka would know what I am saying. In most of the houses where domestic help is available, age is never taken as a factor in employing and underage minors are working without any legal prohibition. We who read such editorials and feel sorry about such deaths, all, in some way or other collectively subscribe to what has happened to Putul. Although there are no statistics available, domestic help constitute one of the largest workforce in our cities and in Dhaka, they outrank all other groups like rickshaw pullers, auto rickshaw drivers, etc. Yet, these domestic help have no organised strength to seek their minimum needs for gainful, decent and humane employment. They are literally at the mercy of their employers.

We who read an editorial such as the one under review are collectively responsible for what this family did in Khulna. Our treatment of the domestic help sustains and encourages some amongst us who have less self-control to cross the limit and commit murder.

We should begin by thinking that the domestic help are not slaves but humans and give them the dignity and the respect that God has given them by making them the same ashraful maqluqat (God's greatest creation) as us who employ them. We can for a start give those we employ at least a day off a week for themselves and ask our children not to call domestic helps by their names and without courtesy.