When girls ask: Why?

India Blooms News Service. Little fingers from Bhopal bring out concern on bias towards girl child, water crisis and corporal punishment. Anil Gulati reports

"I even dance in my dreams, I love dancing, it is my passion, but my parents and brother don’t like my passion, they say I would not be able to dance after Class 10. But why? These is the question of Tammana, a girl presently in tenth grade in a Bhopal school.

Varhsa another girl studying in eighth grade questions "why there is difference between girl and boy child". She argues: "When my brother comes to house from outside my mom asks me to give him water and food. But will that be same when I come from outside? Will my brother be asked to help me with food and water?"

These are voices of girls who are part of school forums set by Child Rights Observatory, an NGO advocating on child rights in Madhya Pradesh in 20 urban schools of Bhopal with support from UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh.

Few of these voices of girl child were reflected in a poster published by Child Rights Observatory titled "What do our girls say?"

Seema, another girl who wrote in the poster, said that we are two sisters but they are clueless why people "ask my parents that if we have brother?"

School forums are child rights groups in 20 schools of Bhopal and nearby, which meet at intervals and discuss about child rights issues. But these are not ‘very formal meetings’. They are play and learn kinds, explains Sonali Jana, an officer with Child Rights Observatory.

"This is start of the process; gradually we encourage them to have their own wall paper and also plan to expand this network at district level. Children contribute in meetings by their writings, drawings and many times speak out in various forums which we organise," Jana says.

Naveen, Khushi, Deepti and Anjana are also members of school forums and by writing poems, stories have brought out the issue of child labour, impact of poverty on children, environment and also reflecting about new things they are learning in school.

Rahul Kushwah, a student of class 7th from Bhopal, contributed a drawing on impact of drinking unsafe water in children magazine titled as Chakmak, brought out by Eklavya, a non-Governmental organization working on education.

His drawing reflected on the harmful effects of drinking contaminated and unsafe water.

Ankur, a child in Class 6 in a Bhopal public school shares his concern on menace of polythene bags in the city and how they are lying around near dustbins and are not cleaned for days together. He expresses concern on cows eating polybags by writing an article in a children magazine run by a media house.

Likewise Pooja from same school talks about growing water crisis in Bhopal and how Bhopal’s water body Upper Lake is losing its water. Krishna, a girl child, questions why teachers and parents beat them instead of explaining where they have gone wrong.

Sometimes it is just scolding but there are times when they are asked to kneel down, stand outside in sun, beaten up with a stick, or are paraded around the lawn of school. But why?

"It is encouraging to see that we are getting more spaces for children to air their views and opinions. This needs to be encouraged and more opportunities should be created for children to speak out on issues that impact their lives, which is their right," says Dr Tania Goldner, Chief, UNICEF, Madhya Pradesh.

Age no bar in India when it comes to marriage!

Rajgarh (Madhya Pradesh), May 16 (IANS) Lakhan, dressed in a cream suit with a flashy headgear on his forehead and a garland of currency notes around his neck, should have been attending his school and preparing for the ensuing summer break at this time of the year.

But donning the traditional attire of a groom, he was at an ancient temple in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh to seek blessings from the local deity not only for himself but also for a teenaged girl sitting beside him.

Amid the unending stream of people, one could easily miss the girl, decked up in a saree, the traditional Indian dress for women. She refused to take off the veil in spite of the heat. There were several other young people like the couple making a beeline to seek the blessings of the deity.

Lakhan reasoned: "She is too shy and, moreover, it is not good to take off the veil in the presence of family elders."

Lakhan and his bride did not carry any proof of age before getting married at this temple and are visibly underage. So are hundreds of others like them.

Their families travelled from another district of Madhya Pradesh to get them married May 6 this year on the occasion of 'Akshya Trithiya', considered to be an auspicious day for solemnising marriages according to Hindu mythology.

Every year, 'Akshay Trithiya' witnesses thousands of child marriages in several parts of the country in blatant violation of the law.

According to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, the minimum age of marriage in India is 21 years for males and 18 years for females.

The State of the World's Children 2009 report by Unicef indicates how widespread the violation of this law is in India.

According to the report, 47 percent of India's women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18, with 56 percent of them in rural areas.

The report also revealed that 40 percent of the world's child marriages are conducted in India.

According to the National Family Health Survey-III, out of 47.3 percent of women aged 20-24 married by the age of 18, at least 2.6 percent were married before they turned 13, while 22.6 percent were married before they were 16.

Around 44.5 percent were married when they were between 16 and 17.

The survey also highlighted the fact that states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Andra Pradesh continue to witness a high number of child marriages.

Dr. Tania Goldner, chief of the Unicef office in Madhya Pradesh, says: "Child marriage is violation of child rights. Early marriage denies the child of the basic rights to health, nutrition, education, freedom from violence, abuse and exploitation and deprives the child of his or her childhood."

"At least 20 districts of Madhya Pradesh have high incidence of child marriages, particularly Badwani, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Sheopur, Neemuch, Sehore, Mandsaur, Chattarpur and Shivpuri," Nirmala Buch, president of Child Rights Observatory, an NGO working for child rights in the state, told IANS.

Though the state government is making an effort to curb the practice, there is a long way to go, says Buch.

Recently, the Madhya Pradesh government's department of women and child development and the district administration of Bhopal were able to intervene and stop three child marriages in the Ratibad area, but such success stories are rare.

Meanwhile, Lakhan had been able to convince his family elders to leave the newly wed couple alone at the temple for a minute.

The shy girl, who stopped going to school much earlier, lifted her veil and both of them got their first 6X4 inch 'Marriage photograph' clicked for Rs.20. Both of them were smiling in their first picture as a 'happily married' couple.

Need for effective enforcement of child rights: Experts

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), April 30 : There are several laws to protect the rights of children in India but what is required is effective enforcement of these rights, prominent members of judiciary said here Saturday. "There are laws for children in India but the challenge is to enforce them. Child is the supreme asset of the nation," Justice Rakesh Saxena of Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur told the symposium on "Child Rights and Law".

Several district judges, civil society organisations and state government departments are participating in the two-day symposium organised by Human Rights Law Network in partnership with Unicef office for Madhya Pradesh and the state department for women and child development. The aim is to sensitise judiciary and senior government officials and to explore ways and means for strict implementation of these laws, said a UNICEF official.

Justice S.K. Gangele of Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court emphasised the need for effective implementation of laws related to child rights at the ground level. "There is a need to engage workers at the grassroots level in the implementation of these laws," he added. Tania Goldner, chief of Unicef field office for Madhya Pradesh, said: "There is an urgent need to bring in higher level of enforcement and strengthen implementation of laws and schemes to let children enjoy their rights."

‘Child marriage is violation of children’s rights’

Civil society consultation on prevention of early marriage was held here on Wednesday at the Academy of Administration.  More than 100 civil society organisations from various districts of the State like Rewa, Hoshangabad, Chhatarpur, Rajgarh, Sehore, Raisen, Badwani, Jhabua, Morena, Tikamgarh, Datia, Guna, Gwalior, Indore, Shivpuri, and Bhind participated in the programme.

Chief of UNICEF in Madhya Pradesh Tania Goldner speaking on the occasion said that Child marriage is violation of children’s rights - whether it happens to girl or boy as it denies the basic rights to health, nutrition, education, freedom from violence, abuse and exploitation and deprives the child of his/her childhood. Though the marriages are coming down but the pace is slow, India contributes to 40 per cent child marriages in world, she added.

Goldner further said that State is taking steps and have law in place, as well as several schemes and programmes focused on Girl child and adolescent girls. But need is to engage communities, address the social norm related to child marriage and make sure that no child loses her or his childhood due to early marriage.

Two girls Pooja and Poonam from Bhopal narrated their stories in the meeting. Poonam resented her own marriage and was able to fight her family and now is studying in school.

Principal Secretary Women and Child Development BR Naidu spoke about the law and how law can help prevent early marriages. He added the need to make use of the law both by communities and civil society organisations. We need to engage community leaders to create awareness in them and make sure that all get married after legal age of marriage, he added.

Nirmala Buch President Child Rights Observatory said that need is to evolve a sustained long term campaign against early marriage in coordination with all stakeholders to support implementation of law in high alert districts. We need to empower decision making in the girl child through focusing on the issue in schools, she added.

Secretary Health & Family Welfare SR Mohanty said that the need is to engage gram Panchayats, Asha workers and field level workers to stop the child marriage at district level. Civil society organisation worked in groups and worked on the key priority areas they would like to focus on coming months and areas where they need support from the State and Police.