Mujhe Padhna Hai

Right to Education is Every Child’s Right

“Chhotu!” somebody called out. I was at a small road side tea shop. A small boy answered to the call. He couldn’t have been more than ten years of age. At first glance it becomes quite clear that his petite form made great justice to his appointed title. Running along with three glasses of tea in his tattered shirt, which had half sleeves yet almost covered the whole of his hand, and his small brown shorts, which were brown because it was their original colour or because of a thick layer of dust, nobody could tell. He was extremely thin, had thick matted hair and bare feet. But there was innocence in his smile and a twinkle in his eyes. I found this most interesting. “What could be the reason behind that twinkle”, I wondered. When he came to me with my chai I asked him his name.  It was Rajan. I gave him a ten rupees tip and saw his face light up.

Rajan lives with his mother and younger sister in a makeshift hut of sorts. His father died two years ago. He was a daily labourer. Until his death Rajan used to attend school. He told me that he loved maths and when I asked a few simple questions I found that he really did have a knack for it. He had to leave school when his father died. Since then he has been working at the tea shop earning ₹ 100 every day. When I asked if he was ever mistreated by the owner, he was very emphatic to tell that the owner was most generous to him. He never cut his pay, always treated him nicely and was a big reason for his survival.

Rajan’s story is just one out of countless all over the country. There are thousands of ‘chhotus’ in every city.  At an age where play and studies should make up the itinerary of a child’s day, these poor souls have to work for meagre wages?  The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE) was passed by the Indian Parliament in 2009. It declares education as a Fundamental Right and states that every child between the age of 6 and 14 has a right to free education in a neighbourhood school. It requires all private schools (except minority institutions) to reserve 25% of seats for the poor and other categories of children (to be reimbursed by the state as part of the public-private partnership plan). Also the Constitution of India, under the Child Labour Act of 1986 prohibits child labour for children below 14 years of age. Both of these laws couldn’t help children like Rajan.

The ground reality is that a lot of work is yet to be done in this regard. Even though the Central Government is the largest provider of primary education in the country (80% primary schools in the country are state owned), it cannot be denied that the Government is not the largest provider of ‘quality’ education. The schools lack basic infrastructural facilities, they are short of teachers and many schools in fact operate in a single room, much less a single building. Also a survey by the HRD ministry in 2014 revealed that 36 out of every 100 hundred students in these schools drop out within two years of joining. Many don’t even know that they have the right to free education. Many on the other hand can’t go to school even if they want to. When I told Rajan that he can get admitted in a nearby school for free, he asked who will then earn for his family. I had no answer. The solution to these problems is not simple.

As far as child labour is concerned, nobody can say that that Act is anything other than a statement on a paper. This is a serious problem. Children who work don’t get the necessary education. They don’t get the chance to develop mentally, emotionally, physically and psychologically. They tire out quickly then adults. As a result their health deteriorates and they become vulnerable to diseases. They remain illiterate for all their lives. Hence, they are unable to give back anything to society. This is a big problem for the economic welfare of a country which requires a large and well educated work force. But if it was strictly implemented, what would happen to Rajan and countless others. He says his mother does work as a domestic help, but doesn’t earn enough to keep their family running. If he were forced to stop work, they would have barely anything to eat every day. This leads one to believe that perhaps things should be left as they are, for it is for the best.

I still wonder where the twinkle behind Rajan’s eyes comes from. The only possible explanation I could gather was that he was only a child and that twinkle would gradually disappear as he grows up. Even though his situation is quite complicated, it still doesn’t mean that he should spend his childhood days under hard labour. He should be running around in fields with friends, going to school every morning and doing his homework every night. The twinkle in his eyes should be justified. Many many such ‘chhotus’ can be helped if they were only made aware of their rights and supported a little along the way to claim them.

Right to Breathe

Among st the most basic and obvious right that each and every human being has and deserves is the right to life. It is in fact the first and foremost right of every person. Everybody has the right to be born, to learn to crawl, then walk and then run - to grow up, to love, to hate, to laugh, to cry and to just live. But do they? I should rephrase my statement and say that everybody should have that right. Because some people are robbed off it, much before they can even understand what it is to live or even to be born. A very large section of the society in our country is often in danger of this fate. Can you ever imagine yourself doing something like this to someone? No? The person next to you just might. Do you feel disgusted that some people do this and can’t comprehend why in the world would anybody do so? A person perhaps in your neighborhood doesn’t share these feelings.

As inhumane as it sounds, female infanticide and female feticide exist and are widespread in India. It is a harsh reality which makes me ashamed of our society, and so it should make you. Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of a female infant within one year of its birth. It is done either directly or indirectly by deliberate neglect to feed the infant. Female feticide, on the other hand, is the deliberate killing of the female fetus within the womb. It is also known as sex selective abortion. This problem has existed in India for centuries. The most common reason for this seems to be the opinion of a lot of people that girls are simply a burden on the family. Gender bias has rooted itself so deep within us, that people they have the right to decide that it’s better for someone to come into this world because she’s a girl. She won’t carry forward the family name. She would be married one day and belong to some other family. The parents would have to even pay for the marriage to get rid of her. She might even expect them to pay and get her educated. What good will that do anyone? Right? Wrong! In today’s society, girls are as capable as any boy, if not more. There are lots and lots of examples of women who climbed to the top of the corporate world, the political world, the sports world and any other field that you can think of. I won’t mention any of them here because I believe that they are famous enough that you should know of them.

Though some of you might think that though this issue does exist, it’s really not that big because you have hardly heard of something like this done by someone you knew. Let’s just take a look at these numbers. The 2011 Census released by the government, covering the decade starting 2001 shows that 3 million girls fell prey to this evil in the decade. Also it showed that there are now 48 fewer girls for every 1000 boys than there were in 1986. In a time when we think that our country is progressing towards better gender equality, the number of girls per 1000 boys is decreasing. It is now around 914-1000, the lowest ever in Independent India.  This lopsided ratio is even more alarming in the age group 0-6 years. A survey done by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs says that India is the ‘most dangerous place in the world to be born a girl’. It shows that there might in fact be 8 million cases of female infanticide in the decade 2000-2010.

The government banned sex determination back in 1994. There is heavy punishment for killing a female infant. In many rural areas the government even pays a small sum for every female child born. In many villages in Rajasthan, ₹ 1400 is paid for every female baby delivered in a government hospital. It was reported that many women deliver their daughters in these hospitals, take their entitlements and leave the baby behind. In Devda village, there are only 18 girls compared to the population of 25000 men. Sex determination tests are still carried out secretly in many private clinics. In a well-known Abortion Centre in Mumbai, out of the 15,914 abortions performed during 1984-85 almost 100 per cent were those of girl foetuses.

As rooted as this problem is, every citizen of the country can put in their efforts to curb it. The first and foremost thing to do is to decry the practice and spread awareness about it. The circumstances that lead parents to do this must be tackled. The government has taken many initiatives, but it will be completely fruitless if the society as a whole doesn’t condemn this practice. People should realize the consequences of not saving their daughter. If people would only have sons as children, who will you marry your with. That would be a scenario I believe not even the girl hating families would want to come true. If you think that it is just a laughable exaggeration, then please open your eyes. It could very well come true. Just something to ponder upon. 

Equal Rights to Children of Prostitutes

                           

There is an exploitative world of men and women selling themselves fulfilling their needs. But there is a certain section which is often overlooked in the prostitution industry: the children. These are the victims without voices. These are the children who can’t demand their child rights. These are the poor survivors who often end up their life in miseries and agonies. Still an aloof category, untouched souls. I guess, there is a very little research found about the children of prostitutes, yet they are trapped in an industry affecting their health, their lives and their futures.

One of the serious concerns for a child growing up in the sex industry is their safety. He is being snatched his right to safe and comfortable environment. In country like India, a prostitute is taken as a criminal. Her child is alleged in the same way, unnecessarily. When children stay with their mothers, they are often exploited and become part of the sex industry. In the brothels of Bangladesh, young children are forced to help their mothers and learn about prostitution at a very young age. They are forced to accept that their mothers and siblings are prostitutes even if parents try to shelter them from negative brothel influences. The majority of the girls growing up in Bangladesh brothels will become prostitutes themselves, most having their first sexual experience at the age of 8 or 9. I literally got goose bumps after getting to know this. In our country, India there is no proper institutions for children of prostitutes. The psychological damage is a common problem for children growing up in the sex industry. Many children of prostitutes have a hard time with social exclusion. Most children are forced to live with a deep sense of guilt or disgrace about their parent’s profession. The fact that they are not accepted by society and feel a sense of shame often leads to their future involvement in prostitution.

Children are all same. Poor innocent souls. They don’t have a care taker. Not even access to education. The girl child has no social security. She is exploited and gullible creature is vulnerable to cruel world. They don’t lead a normal life like we as a child have lived. The brothel is their house with no trace of family in it. The boy child gets involved in criminal activities. They get used to gambling, stealing and sometimes even murder.

Social activists now days are working for these types of children. But are they getting their rights? Not everyone. But of course there are some lucky ones. Some organizations are providing a helping hand to these children. They are getting a better upbringing. They send these children to schools. Psychological sessions to soothe their minds and thinking are organized. They look if the child is getting proper nutrition or not. Even few children are sent to foster care system. Still in India, the cordial relation of mother and child hinders such detachment. This is a better option to make a child grow in a protected and care free environment.

But community outreach as well as services for children is slowly becoming available. Many cases of neglect, physical abuse, and discrimination are reported in households of prostitute parents. Numerous local organizations are working in red light districts and brothels to establish programs for children. These groups throughout the world have developed programs focused on primary schooling, adult literacy, health services, sex worker organizations, as well as safe homes for children. Groups in India have seen improvement with the children that have been moved to the safe homes and hope to do more research on the impact that they are having in the community.

More research needs to be done on the effects of growing up in prostitution. It is difficult for people to think about the children of prostitutes because of social stigmas regarding prostitution. Still it is important to focus on the needs of children growing up around the sex industry and continue to provide the support they need to overcome the physical and mental harm that most will face growing up in this industry.

We need to give the children their birth rights. Though, they can’t have the right to change their past. But they have a right to make their own future.

Child Marriage

What marriage exactly is? The legally and formally recognized        union of a man and a woman as partners in a relationship is known as marriage. No law, No book, No Google says marriage is a union of two children. A little boy and a little girl. In India, when a girl is below 18 and a boy is below 21 or in simple words both are under age is considered as a child marriage.

We must be feeling, now a day’s people are rational, they have got senses, how can they even think of existence of child marriage. Child marriage in today’s world sounds hypothetical. But we can’t turn our face from the harsh reality that it does exist. And will remain into practice until and unless we realize to raise our voices against this menace. The sad news is its still prevalent in India in number of villages and districts. Even mega cities provide shelter to child marriage. Nobody is concerned to protest against such so called merrymaking. They think that it is personal matter of families. This is happening with the consent of the family members. No! This is not so. Anything which is illegal does not involve personal opinion. Child marriage is a crime.  It is a serious and heinous offence. Those who do and those who tolerate this crime are criminals.

Recently, I visited my friend’s home. I saw a kid sitting in her verandah. His age was hardly two. I asked my friend about the child. She said the child belongs to her maid. Not paying much heed we entered her living room. After few minutes, a girl carrying tray filled with snacks and drinks disconnected our conversation. Suddenly, my attention was on her and I was expecting her to be the mother of the child playing in the verandah. I enquired her age and to my fear, she was 16. This disturbed me to the worst. “Kya tumhari shadi marzi se hui hai tumhari? Khush ho tum?” I questioned the young mother. She responded, “Aap meri jagah hoti toh khush hoti kya?” I had no words to combat her reply. This taboo to our society is still prevalent and its roots are way too strong.

We think that child marriage is only practiced in villages or families who can’t afford to feed their children or are uneducated. Balderdash. When I passed my 10^th standard, one of my friends who came from a rich background and well off family was put to marry a 32 year old man. She was just 15. Was it justified to make her marry to such a big man? We need to understand why the mentality of our society even after being in 21^st century is not changing?  Is it hard to understand the feelings of poor little kids who just have arrived in this world? The shoulders which are happy to get burdened with books are in actual gets responsibilities. If this is what cultured people do or this is some stupid traditional activity, then to hell with it. I don’t understand religion, I don’t understand traditions, and I don’t understand customs, rituals or stuff like that when it comes to kids. I deny to believe that poverty is the main cause of all this. Being poor makes you go off your child into some dangerous hands?  Child marriage is illegal. People should be punished in fact seriously punished for this devilish act.

Are we fools who can’t see what child marriage leads into? Emotional trauma, physical torture, psychological harm is the dangerous consequences of child marriage. “Bacche paida hi kyu karte ho agar paalna nahi aata toh?”  Give them who are in need of a child. At least they would respect your child’s life.

There are innumerable laws. But they are of no use. A law is for a lawyer. For a layman knowledge of right and wrong is important. See what your conscious allow. If u can’t follow what law is then at least follow humanism. Give a child his right to freedom and security, his or her right to choose one’s own partner when he/she is physically, legally and mentally prepared. When parents mentioned the term marriage and a poor girl did not even was aware with the meaning of it, she got married.

Shockingly, India stands on the first position of child marriage all over the world. What a shame on us. Administration is doing its due. It made laws. Now, it is our duty as a citizen, as a human to give children their rights and stand united against any kind of exploitation.

The Child is Father of The Man

“The Child is father of the man”

I Hope you all will be familiar with this line from the famous poet William Wordsworth.
It is actually true. What a man becomes depends on the habits he develops and the environment he is provided with in his formative years, i.e. when he was a child. So it shows how an adult behaves, totally reflects the kind of childhood he/she had.

Childhood is the most beautiful and the most important part of a person’s life. It actually acts as the foundation for the future of the person, be it beautiful or ugly, all depends on his/her childhood. It is not only the particular individual’s future but also the future of the entire nation to which they belong to. So it is of utmost importance, to give a child a safe, secure and happy childhood. It is their right and we the adults have the responsibility of making sure that no child is denied the basic rights that he/she is entitled to.

Rights, a child’s rights, a question that would arouse the curiosity of many. Who exactly can be called a child and what exactly are these rights. A ‘child’ is a person below the age of 18, and the rights he is entitled to are like right to association with both parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education, health care and criminal laws appropriate for the age and development of the child, equal protection of the child's civil rights, and freedom from discrimination on the basis of the child's race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability, color, ethnicity, or other characteristics. It also includes, allowing children the capacity for autonomous action to the enforcement of children being physically, mentally and emotionally free from abuse and rights to care and nurturing.

These are just basic and simple rights that a child has. But now a day’s what we see is denial of these to them, be the child from any strata of the society, and it is really painful and at the same time shameful that we as adults are sitting idle and not doing much about it.

Open any newspaper, and there won’t be one day without news reading a child was molested by his uncle in this place or child was abused by his step-mom in that place, and many such things. I sometimes feel really scared to open the newspaper for the same reason, there will not be anything good. All it will be full of atrocities of the man, and the most shameful being that on the children. Such men can’t be called as human that is because no human heart will feel like causing harm to such a beautiful, delicate and precious gift like a child.

At an age where children should study, play and be carefree, many of them are engaged in or better say forcefully pushed to work because of their circumstances. And, the environment they get at their place of work will be beyond the limits of inhumanity, just for a meager sum of money so that they can at least have one morsel of food for them and their families. They toil, without complaining but still they are treated worse than any street animal at the places where they work. Is this their age to work??? Then when will they play and learn??? How will they have a bright future??? Here they are being denied with their basic rights to healthy food, to study, healthcare facilities. Are we benefiting in any way??? NO. Are we going to be affected by this??? YES. That is because a child is the future of a nation, and to have a healthy and progressive nation each and every child should have the basic education, and all the healthcare facilities.

You might be thinking this is only for the poor children, they are helpless and in need of our help. But that is not the truth. Each and every child these days needs at most care and security. Because the society is full of hawks and vultures who are keeping an eye and waiting for an opportunity to pounce on them and devour their prey, our children. This is the reason why we are frequently hearing about so many molestation and abuses happening on children these days. Such people use children to satisfy their sexual desires and what not, but in turn ruining the entire childhood of that poor child who pays the price for his/her entire life.

It is an earnest plea; please keep your children safe. Not only yours, but others too. It is our duty. We are the guardians. We have to give them a good environment to nurture with good values, safe surroundings, satisfying their basic need. Do not deny any child of his or her rights.
A child is one of the most beautiful and innocent creations of almighty cherish their presence and take care so that they do not perish.