ENWO highlights how customary institutions can both protect children and hinder justice in child abuse and labour cases
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DIMAPUR — Customary law and village council authority have both helped and hindered responses to child abuse and child labour in Nagaland, according to Eastern Nagaland Women’s Organisation (ENWO) president Yingphe Konyak.
Her remarks come as the world observes World Day Against Child Labour and the country continues to pursue ‘Education for All’ under the National Education Policy 2020, even while child labour and abuse remain concerns across the state.
Customary institutions in Nagaland play a dual role in child protection, Konyak said to Eastern Mirror. She said these institutions often resolve disputes quickly, mobilise community support for vulnerable children and identify cases of neglect or abuse that government agencies may not immediately detect.
They also encourage families to send children to school and frequently serve as the first point of intervention in remote areas where formal institutions have limited reach.
However, she noted that customary processes can also create challenges. Pressure for informal settlements may discourage formal reporting of offences, while community reputation is sometimes prioritised over a child’s best interests. In such settings, victims and their families may face pressure to remain silent.
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Konyak stressed that serious offences such as child sexual abuse, trafficking and severe exploitation require criminal investigation and cannot be resolved solely through customary mechanisms.
She added that a lack of child-rights training among local leaders can result in decisions that do not fully align with national child protection laws. “In many tribal societies, particularly in Nagaland, strong social structures can be both a source of protection and a barrier to justice,” she said.
According to Konyak, families often fear stigma if abuse cases become public. Survivors, especially girls, may face victim-blaming, questions about their character and concerns over future marriage prospects. Traditional dispute-resolution systems can also pressure families to settle cases privately through compromise or compensation, shifting focus from a child’s trauma to community harmony.
She also observed that children are often taught not to challenge relatives, teachers or community leaders. When perpetrators occupy such positions, victims may fear disbelief, retaliation or social exclusion.
Further, a culture of silence around sexuality means many children lack the vocabulary to describe abuse, while families may avoid reporting cases for fear of gossip or public scrutiny, she added.
Yet tribal customs are not inherently obstacles, she said. Traditional values of community responsibility, protection of the vulnerable and collective accountability can strengthen child protection when aligned with child rights and the law.
“Children sent to live elsewhere for education, work or domestic help, along with migrant and displaced families facing financial strain, face similar dangers. Across the state, child labour persists where basic needs go unmet and children are treated as contributors to household income instead of learners entitled to protection,” she said.
She cautioned that while migration can increase vulnerability, it is not the root cause of child labour. Poverty, lack of educational opportunities and weak child protection mechanisms remain the underlying drivers.
Konyak said the most effective child protection strategy begins with strengthening families economically through access to welfare schemes, scholarships and social protection programmes.
She suggested that communities establish monitoring systems through village councils, churches, women’s organisations and tribal bodies to keep track of children living away from home.
She also recommended mandatory registration of child placements so that children living outside their parental homes for education or care are known to village authorities and child protection agencies. This, she said, would help distinguish genuine educational support from hidden domestic labour.
To strengthen accountability, Konyak called on churches, student bodies, women’s organisations and tribal hohos to make it clear that children are not domestic workers and that educational sponsorship must never become unpaid labour.
Dimapur Eastern Naga Students Union (DENSU) president Thongule Sangtam said the union maintains a strict stance against child labour and underage domestic work involving students from eastern Nagaland.
He said DENSU conducts an annual registration drive for children staying with guardians or outside their community for educational purposes, with federating units monitoring the process. While the initiative has been largely successful, some parents and guardians still fail to register children.
Sangtam said the union does not object to children living with guardians for schooling but will not tolerate underage children being kept as domestic workers.
According to him, children from poor rural households are often exploited under the guise of education, with some sponsors taking children in for schooling while assigning them household chores beyond their capacity.
He attributed the movement of children to guardians’ homes largely to poverty and weak educational infrastructure in rural areas. Improving educational opportunities and conditions in villages, he said, would reduce the need for parents to send children away from home in search of better prospects.