शनिवार, 16 अक्तूबर 2010

TOBACCO INDUSTRY EFFORTS TO THWART EFFECTIVE TOBACCO CONTROL

TOBACCO INDUSTRY EFFORTS TO

THWART EFFECTIVE TOBACCO

CONTROL

Effective tobacco control is, almost by definition, antithetical to the economic interests of the

tobacco industry, associated industries, and entities or persons working to further the tobacco

industry’s agenda. Those interests depend largely on the prosperity of the tobacco industry and

its means for ensuring its real or perceived commercial well-being. The primary goal of tobacco

control is to prevent tobacco-caused disease and death. In the hierarchy of objectives for reaching

this goal, preventing the uptake of tobacco use and assisting tobacco users in ceasing use of all

forms of tobacco rank highest. Similarly, efforts designed to reduce exposure to second-hand

smoke are most effective when smoking is prohibited in public areas.

This triumvirate of objectives—preventing uptake, maximizing cessation and prohibiting

smoking in public places—stands in direct opposition to the commercial objectives of the tobacco

industry. Although the industry sometimes makes expedient public statements to the contrary,

it routinely seeks to maximize uptake of tobacco use, do all that is possible to ensure that tobacco

users continue to be consumers and prevent the erosion of smoking opportunities by restrictions

known to reduce smoking frequency (1) and promote cessation (2). Thus, when tobacco control

succeeds, the tobacco industry fails. People employed by the tobacco industry have fiduciary

responsibilities to their shareholders or government owners to take all legal steps possible to

maximize profits. It is therefore entirely predictable that the tobacco industry does what it can to

ensure that effective tobacco control policies fail.

In an analogy with the classic public health model of communicable disease control, the tobacco

industry has been described as the principal ‘vector’ of tobacco-caused disease (3). Like efforts to

understand the chain of transmission and death in communicable diseases, comprehensive

tobacco control requires that public health authorities monitor and counteract the efforts of the

tobacco industry to promote tobacco use and to undermine tobacco control.

Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Director-General of the WHO, described tobacco use as “a

communicated disease—communicated through marketing”(4). The promotional activities of the

industry are directly responsible for the spread of tobacco use, especially among young people

and women and in developing countries, who are the latest targets of tobacco industry marketing.

Scrutinizing, countering and eliminating their activities will decrease the disease burden of

tobacco use.

Monitoring of the tobacco industry by WHO

WHO is well aware of the long history and the extent of tobacco industry efforts to avoid, delay

and dilute the advancement of effective tobacco control policies and interventions. The position

of WHO is that it will not accept funding from the tobacco industry (5). Understanding and

effectively counteracting efforts by the tobacco industry and its allies to oppose tobacco control

are crucial. Given this reality, the WHO Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) monitors and draws global

attention to the activities and practices of the tobacco industry (6).

Part I. Tobacco industry efforts to thwart effective tobacco control

गुरुवार, 14 अक्तूबर 2010

What we do for girl child labor

The Programme

World Day 2009: Give girls a chance: End child labour

In this section

World Day 2009 - News and events

Resources for the 2009 World Day

Let children bloom
World Day Against Child Labour 2009 -
Celebrating 10th Anniversary of
Convention No. 182

Give Girls a Chance: Tackling child labour, a key to the future
This report provides an overview on the involvement of girls in child labour, and the policy responses required to tackle the problem.

The World Day Against Child Labour will be celebrated on 12 June 2009. The World Day this year marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the landmark ILO Convention No. 182, which addresses the need for action to tackle the worst forms of child labour. Whilst celebrating progress made during the past ten years, the World Day will highlight the continuing challenges, with a focus on exploitation of girls in child labour.
Around the world, an estimated 100 million girls are involved in child labour. Many of these girls undertake similar types of work as boys, but often also endure additional hardships and face extra risks. Moreover, girls are all too often exposed to some of the worst forms of child labour, often in hidden work situations.
On this World Day we call for:

Policy responses to address the causes of child labour, paying particular attention to the situation of girls.
Urgent action to tackle the worst forms of child labour.
Greater attention to the education and skills training needs of adolescent girls - a key action point in tackling child labour and providing a pathway for girls to gain Decent Work as adults.

Girls and child labour

ILO standards require that countries establish a minimum age of employment (generally 15 though developing countries can set the age at 14). They also require that children (including adolescents aged 15-17) are not involved in work designated as a worst form of child labour.
However in many countries of the world, girls below the minimum age of employment can be found working in a wide range of occupational sectors and services and often in the worst forms of child labour.
Large numbers of young girls labour in agriculture and in the manufacturing sector, frequently working in dangerous conditions. A major sector of employment for young girls is domestic work in third party households. Oftentimes this work is hidden from the public eye, leading to particular dangers and risks. The extreme exploitation of girls in the worst forms of child labour includes slavery, bonded labour, prostitution and pornography.

Girls face multiple disadvantages

Most child labour is rooted in poverty, often associated with multiple disadvantage. Socio-economic inequalities based on language, race, disability and rural-urban differences remain deeply entrenched. Girls can face particular disadvantages due to discrimination and practices which allocate certain forms of work to girls. Many girls take on unpaid household work for their families, usually more so than boys. This work may include childcare, cooking, cleaning, and fetching water and fuel. Girls often also have to combine long hours of household chores with some form of economic activity outside the household presenting girls with a “double burden”. This can have a negative impact on any opportunity for school attendance and can present a physical danger to girls.

Girls still disadvantaged in education

Millennium Development Goal 2 calls for all children to complete a full course of primary education by 2015. Millennium Development Goal 3 has a target of eliminating gender disparity both in primary and secondary education. However globally some 75 million children are still not enrolled in primary school. For every 100 boys in school, there are only 94 girls and girls in rural areas are particularly disadvantaged. Gross enrolment at secondary level in developing countries is 61% for boys and 57% for girls. In least developed countries the figures are 32% for boys and 26% for girls. It is clear that in much of the developing world huge numbers of girls are failing to access education at post primary level.
Girls may often be the last to be enrolled and the first to be withdrawn from schools if a family has to make a choice between sending a boy or girl to school. Girls’ access to education may also be limited by other factors, for example the safety of the journey to school or lack of adequate water and sanitation facilities.
Without access to quality education, girls drift into the labour force at an early age well below the minimum age of employment. It is therefore vital to extend secondary education and skills training for girls and to ensure that children from poor and rural households can access this provision.

Decent Work and development by educating girls

Education for a child is the first steps towards obtaining Decent Work and a decent livelihood as an adult. Research has proven that educating girls is one of the most effective ways of tackling poverty. Educated girls are more likely to have better income as adults, marry later, have fewer and healthier children, and to have decision making power within the household. They are also more likely to ensure that their own children are educated, helping to avoid future child labour. Tackling child labour among girls and promoting their right to education, is therefore an important element of broader strategies to promote development and Decent Work.

The World Day Against Child Labour

The World Day Against Child Labour aims to promote awareness and action to tackle child labour. Support for the World Day has been growing each year. In 2009 we look forward to a World Day that is widely supported by governments, employers and workers organisations, UN agencies and all those concerned with tackling child labour and promoting the rights of girls.

We would like you and your organisation to be part of the 2009 World Day.
Join us and add your voice to the worldwide movement against child labour.
For more information contact ipec@ilo.org.

Domestic labour

In this section

GLOBAL FACTS AND FIGURES IN BRIEF

Throughout the world, thousands of children are working as domestic helpers, performing tasks such as cleaning, ironing, cooking, minding children and gardening. In many countries this phenomenon is not only socially and culturally accepted but might be regarded positively as a protected and non-stigmatised type of work, and therefore preferable to other forms of work, especially for the girl-child. The perpetuation of traditional female roles and responsibilities within and outside the household, and the perception of domestic service as part of a woman’s apprenticeship for adulthood and marriage, also contribute to the low recognition of domestic work as a form of economic activity, and of child domestic labour as a form of child labour.
Ignorance of, or disregard for the risks children might be exposed to in this kind of work is an alarming reality in many parts of the world. It is also one of the reasons for the widespread institutional reluctance to address the issue with specific policies and laws and why the issue has only recently come to the forefront of the international debate as potentially one of the most widespread “worst forms of child labour”.
Given its hidden nature, it is impossible to have reliable figures on how many children are globally exploited as domestic workers. According to the ILO, though, more girl-children under 16 are in domestic service than in any other category of child labour. Available statistics mostly based on local research and surveys, and certainly only the tip of the iceberg, provide for an alarming indication of the extent of the phenomenon worldwide. Recent IPEC rapid assessments conducted in Asia, Africa and Latin America confirm the overwhelming extent and gravity of this problem.
According to recent reports, for example, some 175,000 children under 18 are employed in domestic service in Central America, more than 688,000 in Indonesia alone, 53,942 under-15 in South Africa and 38,000 children between 5 and 7 in Guatemala.
The root causes of child domestic labour are multiple and multi-faceted. Poverty and its feminisation, social exclusion, lack of education, gender and ethnic discrimination, domestic violence, displacement, rural-urban migration and loss of parents due to conflicts and diseases, are just some of the multiple “push factors” for child domestic workers worldwide. Increasing social and economic disparities, debt bondage, the perception that the employer is simply an extended “family” and protected environment for the child, the increasing need for the women of the household to have a “replacement” at home that will enable more and more of them to enter the labour market, and the illusion that domestic service gives the child worker an opportunity for education, are some of its “pull factors”.
The hazards linked to this practice are a matter of serious concern. The ILO has identified a number of hazards to which domestic workers are particularly vulnerable and the reason it may be considered to be one of the worst forms of child labour. Some of the most common risks children face in domestic service are:

long and tiring working days;
use of toxic chemicals;
carrying heavy loads;
handling dangerous items, such as knives, axes and hot pans;
insufficient or inadequate food and accommodation, and
humiliating or degrading treatment, including physical and verbal violence, and sexual abuse.

These hazards need to be seen in association with the denial of fundamental rights of the children such as, for example, access to education and health care, the right to rest, leisure, play and recreation and the right to be cared for and to have regular contact with their parents and peers (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child). These factors can have an irreversible physical, psychological and moral impact on the development, health and well-being of the child.
Given the complexity of its root causes and impact, any effort to adequately and efficiently address child domestic labour must therefore be of a multidisciplinary, multi-faceted and integrated nature, and linked to the broader context of poverty reduction, elimination and prevention of the worst forms of child labour and promotion and enforcement of fundamental labour and human rights.

THE ILO RESPONSE: KEY INSTRUMENTS AND MAIN ACTIONS

From an international law perspective, children who have reached the minimum working age in their country but are below 18 and are “legitimately” involved in domestic service are entitled to the rights guaranteed both by labour laws and standards, and by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. When they are working under exploitative conditions or are under the legal minimum working age they are recognised as child domestic workers, and in some cases they are considered to be in one of the worst forms of child labour, against which specific instruments and provisions have been adopted. As noted above, given its hidden nature and the characteristics of the employment relationship it is very difficult to draw the line between “legitimate domestic work” and its exploitative forms. In fact, evidence shows that in most countries children involved in domestic service are largely involved in what has been previously defined as “child domestic labour”.
Since the early 1930s, the ILO has been able to address the situation of child domestic labour in its most severe forms through its Forced Labour Convention (No.29) that addressed forced and compulsory labour for both children and adults.
With the adoption of the Minimum Age Convention (No.138) in 1973 and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No.182) in 1999, the Organisation has two fundamental international instruments to frame its policy and action response. The implementation of these Conventions is a key starting point to target child domestic labour and eradicate its worst forms. Under these Conventions governments are called on to commit to action and implement specific measures to eliminate child labour. Monitoring and follow up mechanisms are also in place to evaluate a country’s compliance to its international obligations as enumerated in the Conventions. Such mechanisms include periodic reports by Governments, reports to the Committee of Experts by workers and employer’s organisations, and the revision of individual cases by the annual International Labour Conference.
Convention No.138 requires the adoption of national policies for the effective abolition of child labour and a specific minimum age for the admission to employment. The enforcement of this Convention, particularly as far as domestic labour is concerned, is the main challenge since this sector is often excluded from the coverage of the Convention and from national labour laws.
Although it does not explicitly define child domestic labour as a worst form of child labour, Convention No.182, ratified by 163 countries as of 2006, includes a number of important provisions that are applicable to it. It calls on governments to implement effective time-bound measures to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, undertake action programmes to prevent it, promote and support reintegration of child workers into their communities and families, provide access to free education, identify children at special risk with a view to protecting them and, particularly relevant for child domestic labour, it gives special attention to the vulnerabilities of the girl-child.
Both Conventions encourage countries to compile a list of hazardous child labour and many countries have included domestic labour in the list.
The ILO, through its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), works in support of government efforts to fulfil international commitments under these Conventions. It encourages countries to adopt a set of strategies at the national level that aim at creating an enabling environment to eliminate child labour and at withdrawing and preventing children from being engaged in it. The Time-Bound Programme (TBP) approach is one means of implementing this. It comprises a set of integrated and coordinated policies and interventions with clear goals, specific targets and a defined time frame, aimed at preventing and eliminating a country’s worst forms of child labour.
Many Time-Bound Programmes specifically include among their priorities the eradication of child domestic labour. Their prevention, protection and rehabilitation components include: developing and sharing knowledge, filling identified gaps, ensuring law enforcement; mainstreaming child labour concerns in national development agendas and policy documents, such as national plans of action and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP), and raising public awareness through advocacy campaigns.
Recognising the complexity of the issue and the long-term nature of policy interventions at national level, IPEC has been also working at local level on targeted direct action aimed at progressively preventing and eliminating child domestic labour. Since 2001, it has implemented a number of technical cooperation projects on child domestic labour. These projects have been carried out all over the world (From 2001 to 2006, IPEC has implemented project in: Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka); Africa (Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia); and the Americas (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama; Paraguay and Peru); and have made significant contributions to addressing the problem. The intervention strategies and objectives of these projects vary according to the age of the children: if the child is below the legal minimum working age, the objective is immediate removal from this exploitative situation and reintegration into the family, educational system and community. If the child is above the legal minimum working age, the objective is to ensure his or her protection by ensuring that s/he is not working under hazardous conditions and that s/he enjoys her/his rights as a worker and a child.
Direct action projects have included a wide range of interventions, such as: expanding the knowledge-base on the subject; awareness-raising and capacity building of social partners to improve their response; technical assistance to develop and adopt national legislation and enforcement mechanisms; support to the educational system to offer more and better educational opportunities to children and youth involved in domestic service, and assistance to such children in the form of reintegration and rehabilitation services.

Child domestic labour information resources

The information resources in this section aims at facilitating access to the materials on child domestic labour produced by IPEC in various parts of the world as part of its global efforts to prevent and eliminate child labour and its worst forms. Far from exhaustive, the list of publications and audiovisual material has been divided into 6 broad categories:

Key documents;
Rapid assessments, national and regional reports;
Reviews of international and national legislation;
Good practices and lessons learned;
Awareness-raising materials, and
Training materials

Under each category, materials have been organised by country or region, or by theme, and are briefly described to guide the reader.

girl child labor in Bhagalpur Bihar

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ia0 tokgj yky ugs:

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la;qDr jk’Vª vUrjk’Vªh; cky ladV dks’k ¼;wuhlsQ½ }kjk 2005 eaas tkjh ,d fjiksVZ ds vuqlkj fo”oHkj esa 24-6 djksM cPPks fdlh u fdlh izdkj ds Je djus dks etcwj gSA buesa ls 15-2 djksM ,f”k;k 7-6 djksM vÝhdk rFkk “ks’k 1-8 djks³ cky Jfed ySfVu vejhdh ns”kksa o vU; ns”kksa ls ekStwn gSA oSf”od Lrj ij vxj ns[kk tk; rks ikfdLrku esa cuus okyh dkyhuksa dk 80 izfr”kr 15 o’kZ ls de mez ds cPPks gh cukrs gSA tcfd b.Mksusf”k;k esa rEckdw curs gaS vkSj caxykns”k esas cM+s iSekus ij cPps Vh“kVZ cukuss okys m|kssxkas esa dk;Zjr gS ,oa nf{k.k vÝhdk easa rks gtkjksa cPPks ?kjsyw ukSdjkas ds :Ik esa dke djrs gSaA

orZeku le; esa gekjs ns”k dh dqy vkcknh dk 15-42 izfr”kr cPPsk gaSA fetkZiqj esa dke djus okys yk[kksa cPPks Hkkxus dh dksf”k”k esa ihVs tkrs gS vkSj mUgsa o’kkasZ rd osru Hkh ulhc ugha gksrk gSA 1986 esas jk’Vªh; uewuk losZ{k.k }kjk djk, x, loZs{k.k ds eqrkfcd Hkkjr esa cky Jfedksa dh la[;k 1 djks³ 73 yk[k crkbZ xbZ gSA o’kZ 2001 dh tux.kuk ds vkd³ksa ds eqrkfcd ;g la[;k 1 djks³ 25 yk[k gSSA jk’Vªh; Je laLFkku ds rktk vkd³ksa ds vuqlkj orZeku esa 6 ls 14 o’kZ rd ds dqy cPpksa dh la[;k 22 djksM+ gS] tks dqy vkcknh dk 22 izfr”kr gSA ,d vU; vuqeku ds eqrkfcd Hkkjr esa 2 djksM 26 yk[k cPPks iw.kZdkfyd Jfed ds :Ik esa rFkk 1 djksM 85 yk[k cPPks va”kdkfyd Jfed ds :Ik esa dk;Zjr gSaA bu lHkh vkadMks ls ,d ckr Li’V gks tkrh gS fd ckyJe dh leL;k dk ladsnz.k dqN jkT;ksa vkSj m|ksx fo”ks’k rd lhfer gSsA ;g ,d fpUrktud fLFkfr gS ftl ij le; jgrs fopkj djuk vko”;d gSA

tgkW rd ckfydk Jfedksa dh leL;k dk iz”u gS Hkkjr dh lkekftd lajpuk ,oa vU; dkj.kkRed igyw ckfydk dh leL;k dks vkSj vf/kd xaHkhj cukrs gSaA fyax HksnHkko dh xgjh tMsa ckfydkvksa dh la[;k] LokLF;] ikSf’Vdrk] f”k{kk ,oa Ldwy esa ukekadu vkfn dks Li’V :Ik ls izHkkfor djrh gSA

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gekjs ns”k eas 2001 dh tux.kuk ds vuqlkj jkT;okj ckfydk Jfedksa dh la[;k fUkEu Fkh %

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vka/kz izns’k 9-41

e/;izns”k 4-66

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dukZVd 3-45

jkTkLFkku 5-90

fcgkj 3-37

gfj;kuk 1-03

iatkc 50000

dsjy 7000

dqy 49-86 yk[k

fo'ks’k :i ls ckfydk ckyJe oSls fu;kstuksa esa vf/kd yxh gksrh gS ftlesa izk;% efgyk Jfedksa dh fu;qfDr dh tkrh gSA tgka rd ckfydk Jfedksa ds dk;Z dh izd`fr dk iz”u gS os eq[; :i ls ch³h] vxjcÙkh ] ekfpl] iVk[k]s dkap] pw³h] tjh] dkyhu] phuh feÍh ds crZu] ihry m|ksx] rkyk] os”;ko`fr ] fHk{kko`fr ,ao /kjsyw dke bR;kfn dkeksa es layXu gSA pkbYM izkIVhfV;w”ku bu ,sf”k;u VwfjTe ds vuqlkj Hkkjr esa bl Js.kh dh ckfydkvksa dh la[;k 3 yk[k gsSA cky Oks”;ko`fr ckfydk leL;k dk ,d eq[; igyw gSA ckfydk Jfedksa dk dsoy ;kSu“kks’k.k gh ugh gksrk gS cfYd bls fHk{kko`fr ,oa rLdjh tSls /k`f.kr dkeksa esa Hkh yxk;k tkrk gSA blds vfrfjDr vU; fu;kstuksa ,oa ?kjsyw dk;ksZ esa ckfydk Jfedksa d n”kk vR;Ur cqjh gSA us”kuy QkmuMs”ku Qkj bf.M;k }kjk djk;s x;s “kks/k esa ;g ik;k x;k gS fd ,d ckfydk,a ,d fnu es lk<+s ckjg ?kaVs dM+k ifjJe djrh gSA lw;ksZn; ds lkFk gh Ik”kqvkas dh ns[kHkky djuk] ikuh <ksuk] ?kjsyw dk;Z] /kku dh jksiuh vkfn dk;ksZ esa gh mldk vf/kdka”k le; xwtjrk gsSA jk’Vªh; Je laLFkku }kjk djk;s x;s loZs{k.k ds vuqlkj fcgkj ,oa >kj[kaM ds jkT; esaa 3 yk[k 50 gtkj ckfydk Jfed gSA ftuesa 3 yk[k 40 gtkj xzkeh.k {ks=ksa esa vkSj 10 gtkj “kgjkas esa dke djrh gSA bu vkad³ksa esa ?kjksa ,oa pkSjkgksa ij dke djus okyh yMfd;k¡W “kkfey ugh gSasA fcgkj ,oa >kj[kaM ds “kgjh bykdksa esa chM+h m|ksx rFkk ?kjsyw dkekas esa yMfd;kW¡ lcls T;knk dke djrh gsSA bl izdkj ckfydk dh leL;k ckyd dh rqyuk esa vf/kd xaHkhj gSA nq[k dh ckr gS fd ckfydk dh leL;k d fuokj.k gsrq fof”k’V iz;klksa dk vHkko gsS vr% okfydk dh fof”k’V leL;kvksa ds fy, *fof”k’V iz;kl* djus dh vko”;drk gSA

ckyJe ,d fodV lkekftd cqjkbZ gSA Hkkjr ljdkj }kjk fu;qDRk ckyJe ij lfefr ds vuqlkj] oSrfud ;k voSrfud dk;ksZ ij fu;qDr etnwj gksVy] <kck ]QSDVjh] nqdku] odZ”kkWi] dpjk pquuk] ?kj esa ukSdj dk dke djuk] dkyhu cqukb]Z fn;klykbZ] vkfr”kokth] gLrdj?kk] pe³k dk;Z] Hkou fuekZ.k] ihry m|ksx ] rkyk m|ksx vkfn esa ckfydk etnwj T;knk dk;Zjr gaSA

fofHkUu lfefr;kas ds lq>koksa ds ckn ljdkj us ckyJe mUewyu ds fy, 1986 esa foLr`r vf/kfu;e ckyJe fu’ks/k ,oa fu;eu vf/kfu;e] 1986 cuk;k ftlds ek/;e ls 14 o’kZ ls de vk;q ds cPpksa dks [krjukd dk;ksZa ,oa izfØ;kvksa esa fu;ksftr ugh tk ldrk gS A dsUnz ljdkj cuk;k x;k jk’Vªh; dkuwu cPpksa ds lakoSs/kkfud vf/kdkjksa ds mi;ksx ij vf/kd cy nsrk gSA bleas cPpksa dh [kq”kgkyh ds fy, lekt esa tkx:drk ykus dk iz;kl fd;k x;k gSA 1990 esa jk’Vªh; Jfed laLFkku esa Je eU=ky; vkSj ;wfulsQ ds lg;ksx ls cky Jfedksa ds laca/k esa v/;;u] f”k{k.k vkSj izf”k{k.k “kks/k ifj;kstuk vkfn pykus gsrq *cky Jfed lsy* dh LFkkiuk dh xbZ gS A LkMdkass ij ?kwedj viuh thfodk pykus okys cPpksa ds fy, Hkh jk’Vªh; ekuokf/kdkj vk;ksx }kjk Hkh fofHkUu {ks=ksa esa dk;Zjr ckyJfedksa dh leL;k ds fuokj.k laca/kh iz;kl fd;s tk jgs gSaA blh ds rtZ ij *jk’Vªh; cky vk;ksx* LFkkfir fd;k x;k gS] tks cPpksa ds fy, fodkl laca/kh ;kstuk cuk,xk A cPpks dh lqj{kk ,ao ns[kHkky ds fy, gh laln us cky U;k; vf/kfu;e 2000 ikfjr fd;kA

mijksDr lHkh iz;klksa ls ns”k esa yk[kksa cPpksa dk viuk vf/kdkj izkIr djus dk ekxZ [kqy x;k gSA bl laca/k esa miyC/k vkadM+s crykrs gSa fd orZeku eas Hkkjr lfgr lewps fo”o esa bl cqjkbZ dks nwj djus ds fy, iz;kl lQy jgs gSa vkSj lkdkjkRed izHkko Hkh lkeus vk;s gsaSA vUrjk’Vªh; Je laxBu }kjk tkjh ,d fjiksVZ 2005 ds vuqlkj fo”o Lrj ij igyh ckj bl leL;k esa Hkh >yd jgh gSA fjiksVZ ds vuqlkj o’kZ 2000 ls 2004 ds chp fo”oHkj esa cky Jfedksas dh la[;k esa 11 izfr”kr dh deh ntZ dh xbZ gSA 5&17 vk;q oxZ ds [krjukd dk;ksZ eas yxs cPpksa dh la[;k es 26 izfr”kr dh deh vkbZ gSA ljdkjh vkSj xSj ljdkjh laxBuksas dk iz;kl vxj blh rjg ls tkjh jgk rks vkusokyh fnuksa esa bl leL;k ls futkr feyus eas nsjh ugh gSA

mijksDr iz;klksa ds ckotwn Hkh ge ns[krs gS fd orZeku le; esa ckyJe laca/kh leL;k ,d oSf”od leL;k ds :Ik esa mHkjdj lkeus vk jgh gS bl leL;k ls iw.Zkr% futkr ikus ds fy, loZlk/kkj.k dks [kqys eu ls iz;Ru djuk gksxk vkSj iwathifr;ksa ij vadq”k yxkuk gksxk vkSj ljdkj dks vius }kjk cuk, x;s dkuwukssa dk l[rh ls ikyu djuk gksxkA loZizFke rks ;g t:jh gS fd cky etnwjh lekIr ugha gksus dh /kkj.kk ls futkr ikuk gksxkA cky etnwjh ds dkj.kksa esa xjhch ] vf”k{kk] csjkstxkjh vkSj de etnwjh nj vkfn izeq[k gSA blfy, fofHkUu foHkkxksas ds lg;ksx ls dk;ZØeksas dk lh/kk dke cky etnwjksa dks lgh U;k; fnykus dk iz;kl djuk pkfg,A ftlls mu ifjokjksa dks oSdfYid vk; dk Jksr fey ldsA tks bu cky etnwjksa dh dekbZ ij fuEkZj gks ,slh xjhc ifjokjksa dsk LokLF;]iks’kkgkj] lkoZtfud forj.k iz.kkyh ds ek/;e lLrs diM+s] feV~Vh dk rsy vkfn vU; vkOk”;d oLrq,¡ miyC/k djk;h tk; ftlls mu ifjokjksa ds e`R;qnj vkSj tUenj de gks vkSj mldh vkSlr vk;q c<sA

mijksDr lS)kafrd foospukvksa dh i`’BHkwfe esa “kks/kdrkZ }kjk Hkkxyiqj ftys ds varxZr ukFkuxj] lqyrkuxat ,oa xkSjkMhg iz[k.M esa dk;Zjr ckfydk Jfedksa ds lkekftd vkfFkZd ,ao dY;k.k laca/kh fLFkfr;kas dk v/;;u izLrqr djus dk iz;kl fd;k tk;xkA

“kks/k dh vko”;drk

izLrqr “ksk/k&fo’k; ckfydk Jfedksa ds lkekftd] vkfFkZd ,oa dY;k.k laca/kh fLFkfr;ksa dk v/;;u Hkkxyiqj ftyk ds fo”ks’k lanHkZ esa blfy, eglwl gqbZ fd bruh lkjh ;sktukvksa ,oa ljdkjh iz;klkas ds pyrs jgus ds ckotwn ckfydk Jfedksa dh lkekftd] vkfFkZd ,oa dY;k.k lac/kh fLFkfr;ksa esa xq.kkRed lq/kkj vFkok n`”; ifjorZu ugh gks ik jgk gSA ifj.kker%] leLr ljdkjh iz;kl ,d <kd ds rhu ikr A nwljh vksj] bl ;kstukvksa ij yk[kkas&yk[k /kujkf”k ikuh dh rjg cgk dj Hkh ljdkjh ;kstuk,W okafNr y{; ls dkslkas nwj gSA izLrqr v/;;u blh bu y{;ksa dh vksj vfHkizssfjr gS] fd vkf[kj dkSu lh [kkfe;kW gSa] tks bu ;kstukvksa dks iw.kZ :Ik ls y{; rd igqWpus esas ck/kk Mky jgh gSA

Hkkxyiqj ftyk ftldh vkcknh 24-30 yk[k gSA vkSj og 16 iz[k.Mks esa foHkkftr gSAmlesa izeq[k lqyrkuxat ] ukFkuxj ] lckSj ] dgyxkWo] ihjiSrh] xksjkMhg ] jxjk pkSd ] ukSxfN;k] [kjhd vkfn gS

lektfoKku esa “kks/k ifjdYiuk “kks/k dk;Z {ks= esa okLrfod dne j[kus dk vk/kkj gksrk gSA izLrqr “kks/k ds lnHkZ esa izeq[k ifjdYiuk,W fuEufyf[kr gS &

1 detksj vkfFkZd fLFkfr;kW xjhc ifjokj ds ckfydkvksa dks jkstxkj ds {ks= esa izos”k djus ds fy, ck/; djrh gSA

2 ckfydk Jfedksa ls 8 ls 14 /kaVks rd dke fy;k tkrk gSA

3 ckfydk Jfedksa ds ekrk &firk dks iwjs le; rd jkstxkj ugha feyrk gSA

4 ckfydk Jfedksa ds ekrk firk dks U;wure etnwjh ugh feyrh gSA

5 ckfydk Jfed o;Ld etnwjkas dh vis{kk de etnwjh ysdj dke djrs gSaA

6 etnwj laxBu ckfydk Jfedksa ds izfr mnklhu gksrs gS ftlls fu;kstd ds fy, ckfydk Jfedksa dks dke ij yxkuk vklku gks tkrk gSA

7 ckfydk Jfedksa esa lkSnsckth dh {kerk detksj gksrh gS

8 ckfydk Jfedkas ds vf/kdka”k ekrkfirk vf”kf{kr gksrs gSA

9 vf/kdka”k ckfydk Jfed vf”kf{kr gksrh gSA

10 lkekU;oxZ dh rqyuk esa vuqlwfpr tkfr tutkfr fiNMk oxZ ,ao vYi la[;d leqnk; esa ckfyd Jfed vf/kd la[;k esa gS

girl child labor and education

Girl Child Labour and Education

Background

Girls do enormous work at home and at the fields. They carry water fetch by fetch, collect fuel wood, cook, clean, wash, take care of siblings and act like little mothers. They also work relentlessly, in all seasons, as agricultural labourers. Several hundreds of girls also work in stone and lime quarries in this area. They carry head loads of earth and rubble from the pits at least fifty feet down the risky, narrow stairways. At the end of the day these tired girls just collapse with body aches and pains about which they cannot even complain.
In a survey conducted by the MV Foundation of the families of girl children engaged as farm labourers in cotton seed farms, it was found that while girls worked 29.4 days in a month on wage work, the women worked 22.2 days and the men 18.6 days. Further the contribution of the girl to the family income was 28.7%, of the women 28.3% and of the men 42.8% during that month. It has also been found that the girls are being engaged in new forms of exploitative relationship vis-à-vis the employers. Thus for instance in a conventional situation girls in the area always worked on a daily wage basis as agricultural labourers. They seldom worked as bonded labourers against an advance taken by the family. It was usually the boys who were pledged against a loan taken as bonded labourers. However it is now quite common to see girls working to clear off the advance taken by the parents. This practice is growing, especially in areas of intensive commercial crops such as cotton, oilseeds, seed farms and so on. There is a growing demand for girl children. Indeed, the decision to take up a venture on farming is made only if there is an assured supply of girls in place. The entrepreneurs even go to the schools to cajole them to join as workers. The employers have also designed various methods of interaction with the girls and their families which ensure that there is a guaranteed supply of labour. To tie the girls to the employers they are given incentives and gifts for good production and performance. They are shown videos of popular movies near the work place, taken to the cinema theatre once every month. They have also ensured that the girls worked on their farms by circulating a myth that the farms cotton seed grow well only if touched by girl children especially those who have not attained their puberty. There does not seem to be any break to the dependence of the family and the employers as well on these girls.

It is in this situation that the MV Foundation has attempted to intervene. It was clear that an atmosphere had to be built to make it possible for the girls to abandon work and join into schools. Parents too had to be given confidence that they were taking the right decision in sending their daughters to schools. An assurance had to be given that their children would be given all the attention and care. More important the message that the one and only alternative to the drudgery and discrimination of girls is through education had to be made explicit. To elaborate, the education of girls through attendance in full time schools is crucial to liberate the girls from their daily chores. Education is an intrinsic value in itself needing no further justification. Yet in the case of girl children the spin off effects it has on their lives is immense. It enables them cope with the problem of gender discrimination. It extends the age of their marriage. They no longer would be child brides. They are better nourished and healthy as they no longer work. In fact they become better equipped to deal with adverse situations. Schooling also provides a break in the habits and culture which stultifies the growth of the girl child. It opens up options and possibilities new dreams and a newer future.
There are several interventions - such as training in health, awareness about reproductive health care, critique of patriarchal values and gender discrimination - being suggested for bettering the conditions of girl children. It is argued here that these programmes would make better impact if girls accessed education and were literate. More than anything schools provide leisure, time and space of their own. Thus when in school they are no longer exploited. They no longer have to work for others. They are discovering themselves and their potentialities. They acquire self esteem and confidence. This is their first step towards gender equality and breakdown of stereotypes. This is the beginning of their role as individuals in their own right.

Parents and girl children

When the MVF started it's motivation drive it had to contend with a volley of questions from the parents. For instance they asked, why should girls go to school? They will get married and go away to the in-laws house in any case. Is it not better that they are taught to cook and do the work at home and in the fields. If they get education then we will have to spend more on her marriage and dowry. Who is going to bear all these expenses? She will have scant respect for her elders. All these apprehensions were clarified by using examples of girl children in the villages who are in schools. The stories of girls who have passed out of schools and their status in the family and society was also discussed. The parents were also provoked to think about their own deprivations since they had never been to schools. They were impressed by the stubbornness of the youth volunteers who relentlessly pursued them. It is rare that they are treated with respect and talked to as equals. On more than one occasion the parents found the commitment and seriousness of the volunteers so compelling that they agreed to send their daughters to school, withdrawing them from work. In fact it was during these motivation drives one found out that many of the parents indeed had an innate desire for sending their daughters as well to schools. They did not do so because there was lack of atmosphere enabling them to take this vital decision. They needed the assurance that they were right in desiring that their daughters had to go to school. Thus if they had not sent their girls to school it was more a matter of habit and social pressure than their unwillingness to send their children to school.

Community support for girl children

In every village a door to door survey was conducted to identify the girl children out of schools. The survey was not just for data collection. It enabled discussion with each and every family on the need to send their daughters to school. The survey concluded in a public meeting which focused on the predicament of the girl child and the commitment of the village and its establishment to ease them work. There were also street plays in the villages on the theme of girls and their early marriage, schools etc. There were campaigns and rallies too on the issue. The entire programme helped in building an atmosphere for the community to discuss and see the possibilities of liberating them from work. Even as such a campaign was on it inspired several girls to meet the volunteers to help them cancel their engagements and also the marriages which were fixed. Some girls took courage to meet the volunteers discretely. They sought help for cancellation of an engagement ceremony or marriage. They narrated stories of how their friends lost their mind unable to cope with the in-laws and also sexual abuse of the spouses. Some of them even committed suicide. Thus sufficient pressure was built where girls needed support and even protection especially when they were in a mood to question and assert. It was soon realised that this agenda could not be of the MVF and it's volunteers alone. It required institutional support structures from the community. Thus in all the villages, committees were formed to protect the rights of the girl child. The committee had as its members elected representatives of the local bodies from the village, youth volunteers, representative from the local women's group and also the school headmaster. The committee took on the task of mobilising the parents and also hearing the appeals of girl children wanting to abandon work in favour of schooling. This has facilitated the process of creation of a social milieu, recognising the girl child and her needs. This is indeed still the very beginning of the long drawn out process of giving the girl her rightful place in the society.

Girl's own initiatives to join schools

As is well known it is not an easy task to contact the girls. They are so busy that to catch them while at leisure was itself impossible. The volunteers in every village had lists of all the potential candidates. They caught them on their route to the fields, or in the farms during lunch time. They were also contacted while they were tending to cattle, fetching water or fuel wood. They spoke to them when they were in groups and also while they were alone These children needed a lot of persuasion. Their sense of moral responsibility for their families was deeply ingrained. Their attachment to their mothers and concern for their well being in the eventuality of them not being around in times of need worried them a lot. The first step therefore was to bring them to a place which they could call their own where they could interact with peer their group and gain confidence. Thus motivation centres were set up in every village. It was through these centres that they interacted with one another, negotiated for more free time and longer hours away from home and the work place. They discovered the luxury of being among friends for achieving the purpose of joining schools. Some of these girls had leadership qualities and became crucial opinion makers. They did tremendous work in meeting parents, arguing with them and convincing their own friends to abandon work. Swaying these girls on to the agenda meant winning over at least ten more children at one go. The girls also gathered in large numbers for two to three days camp away from their own village. These 'melas' helped in the girls attaining a sense of solidarity. It became clear to them that they were not alone in their aspirations for going to school. When they returned home after these camps they gained courage to persuade their parents to allow them to study. Not all parents relented automatically. The girls had to protest using the weapons they had. Thus they sulked, wept, stopped talking, refused to eat till the parents agreed to let them go. Some girls even escaped the pressure at home and joined the MVF bridge course residential programmes without their parents support. Even such parents sooner than later changed their minds once they saw the world of difference it made to the girls. They were touched by the transformation of their daughters from workers to students. They were so convinced about the efficacy of the programme that they brought gifts and new set of clothes for them.
A word about the bridge course. The bridge course is for a period of three to twelve months. It prepares the girls as students to go into classes corresponding to their age. During the course they are given the confidence that they too can study, enjoy the world of books and at the same time acquire the discipline of learning. It also prepares the parents for parenthood and play the role of modern parents. In the meantime it orients the schools to welcome these children as very special persons.

Officials and the programme of girl child education

In the process of mobilising girls the MV Foundation found out that several departments could be accessed to the benefit of girl children. Thus for instance the police department intervened to stop early child marriages. The labour officials conducted enquiries in the villages when claims for back wages were made on behalf of the children. These claims were made more to harass the employer rather than to see that the girls had better conditions of work. Furthermore these petitions were made by the elected representatives of the local bodies. In doing so it helped in gaining their acceptance to the agenda of girls right to education. The revenue department was activated to go into the cases of children engaged as bonded labourers and release them from bondage. The health department and the doctors were approached to treat girls who were abused. The women and child welfare department too could be enlisted to run similar bridge course camps for girl children and bringing the issue of the right of the girl child into their purview. Since some of the girls had to eventually join the hostels set up by the social welfare department it was felt necessary to build community pressure for the effective functioning of the hostels.
Most important were the school teachers who participated in the campaign and implored the parents to send their girls to schools. They were guaranteed by them that they would be well looked after and not insulted. In effect it became evident that a co-ordinated effort of all the departments on the issue of girl child could bring about effective results.

Class in bridge course, preparing girls for primary education

Conclusion

The MV Foundation has so far been able to withdraw over 5000 girl children from work in all these five years. This summer alone more than 1000 girls rushed to the bridge course camps. Parents have shown remarkable resilience into accepting their girls in school. They had to make several adjustments but are willing to do so. They aspire for the unfamiliar and hope for a future for their girl children which they themselves were denied. The most important factor to make this possible is the conviction that girls even those belonging to the poorest families deserve schooling and education. It is also the faith in the immense capacities of the parents to try an alternative if given with seriousness. The girls themselves are pathfinders shattering the age old arguments denying them their basic human rights. It has given confidence to all of us that it is possible and necessary to provide them a space which they can call their own. And this space is their school. A space that is secular transcending all parochial values and sentiments reminding them of basic humanistic values. Their acts of courage and determination are the seeds sown for the well being of future generation of girls.