शमीमा की मुश्किलें पहाड़ की उचाईयों से होड़ कर रही है.

इन आँखों में सपने नहीं हैं .ये मासूम वीडियो गेम नहीं खेल सकती , चायनीज़ खिलौनों से भी नहीं  खेल पाई . 6-७ साल की उम्र में जब बच्चे स्कूल जाते हैं. उस उम्र में शमीमा ने स्लेट की जगह सूप और पेंसिल की जगह पर बीडी  में  तम्बाकू भरने वाली तीली  आ गयी  . शमीमा ने कभी स्कूल का मूह नहीं देखा शमीमा की तरह इस बस्ती  में कई बच्चे हैं. जिसकी कहानियाँ लगभग एक सी हैं. दिन भर  बीडी में तम्बाकू भरने के बाद बमुश्किल 20-30 रूपये  कम  पाती है. लाचार अब्बा   टीबी  वजह से अल्लाह को प्यारे हो गए. माँ भी दिनभर  खांसती रहती है. शमीमा की मुश्किलें पहाड़  की उचाईयों  से होड़ कर रही  है. जिंदगी  जब यातनागृह बन  जाती  है तो  आदमी  जीवत  भी हो जाता  है. पर मुश्किलें बहुत  ज्यादा  है और हौसला  नाकाफी है. ऐसा नहीं है की सरकार के पास योजनाओं की कमी नहीं जिनके लिए ये योजनायें बनती हैं उनकी  छत पर टीन भी नहीं चढ़ पाती चूल्हा आग की राह ताकता है. पेट रोटी के लिए जलता रहता है और बदन कपडे  के लिए तरसता है .शमीमा की आँखों में मैक डोनाल्ड या मिक्की-माउस के सपने नहीं आते वो अगले दिन ज्यादा से ज्यादा बीडी के बण्डल बनाने के सपने देखती है ताकि अम्मा के लिए टीबी की दवाई ला सके . कहने को तो सरकारी अस्पतालों में दवाइयां मुफ्त मिलती है. पर सचाई किसी से छुपी नहीं है. ऐसी ही कई शमीमा से मुझे रूबरू होने का मौका मिला. बिहार का एक प्रमुख शहर है भागलपुर . जिला  मुख्यालय से चंद किलोमीटर की दुरी पर है हाट-पुरैनी . मुस्लिम बहुल इलाका है , यहाँ अधिकांश परिवार बीडी बनाकर अपना जीवन यापन कर रहे हैं. सबके दुःख एक से हैं. मुफलिसी इनके जीवन का  सच है . 

A Childhood to Every Child? Child’s Right to Protection o You Know that…

Child’s Right to
Protection
A
Childhood
to
Every Child?
Child’s Right to Protection
o You Know that…
• There are 15 million children in bonded
labour, in India
• There are twice as many girls than boys
engaged in child labour
• There are at least 18 million children living
on the streets in India
• There are 5,00,000 children in commercial
sex work, in India
• In the year 2000, 6562 cases of kidnapping
and abduction of children for purposes that
qualify as forms of trafficking were reported
to the police
• Of these, 37 cases were of kidnapping for
adoption, 15 for begging, 4 for camel
racing, 1092 for illicit intercourse, 4871 for
marriage, 190 for prostitution, 16 for sale, 1
for selling body parts, 63 for slavery and
273 for unlawful activity
Source : Crimes in India 2000 and
www.indiangos.com/issue/child/abuse/statistics/htm.All children have the right to be protected
wherever they are- at home, in school, on the
streets, and at all times-peace, conflict or
calamity. Their right to protection is as
intrinsic to their well-being, as is the right to
survival, development and participation.
Source: Status of Children in India Inc. HAQ: Centre
for Child Rights. 2005.
All living beings and non-living objects need
protection in order to survive but children
being vulnerable, ignorant about facts of life,
innocent and dependent on adults, need it
much more.
hat is Right to Protection?
Every child needs a safe and secure
environment to grow and develop to her/his
fullest capacity. This need of children to a
safe and protected environment has been
recognised as their ‘right to protection.’
Safe Environment, Key to ProtectionChild’s Right to Protection implies that all
children are safe guarded against all forms of
abuse, exploitation, inhuman or degrading
treatment and neglect. Protection rights
include special protection in situations of
emergency and armed conflict.
hat are Child Protection Issues?
Child Protection is a wide subject and covers
many issues.
Specific issues covered by Protection Rights are:Child labour - protection from work that
threatens a child’s health, education or
development.
Street Children - protecting children from
neglect, torture and exploitation such as
forced beggary.
Violence against children - all forms of
maltreatment perpetrated by parents or
other adults.
Sexual exploitation and abuse - including
forced sex work by children and involvement
in pornography.
Sale, trafficking and abduction of
children for child marriage - using children
in sex trade, camel racing, organ trading, for
other superstitious reasons i.e. sacrificing
children to appease Gods/Goddesses and
many such reasons.
Drug abuse - protection from narcotic and
psychotropic drugs and from being involved in
their production or distribution.
Innocence needs NuturanceTorture and deprivation of liberty -
protection from torture, cruel treatment or
punishment, unlawful arrest.
Armed conflict - no child below 15 years of
age can be recruited into the armed forces.
Providing care and protection to children who
are affected by armed conflict.
Protection from interference with privacy -
family, home and correspondence.
Protection from discrimination of any
kind -  based on the child’s or his or her
parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion,
national, ethnic or social origin, property,
disability, birth or other status.
To the above list as covered under the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, we
can add simple things as protection from the
extreme climatic conditions, protection from
unsafe equipment, furniture and objects too.Who needs Protection?
All children irrespective of where they live or
what their socio-economic status is, need
and have a right to protection. But some
groups of children are more vulnerable than
others because of their situation. They include:
Children within the Juvenile Justice System1
Children on the street and street children
2
Child labour
Children with disability
Children who are trafficked for sexual and
other purposes
actors that Necessitate Protection of
Children
Social Factors
• Parents/ guardians think that they know
what is ‘best’ for their child and end up
committing grave errors i.e. denying
certain foods to girl children, branding the
child to cure a disease, selling the child,
pressurising the child to get high marks in
exams etc.
Every Child needs Protection• Domestic Violence against children in the
home and family setting, which are difficult
to detect or report.
Neighbours, family members and
community do not readily come forward as
witnesses or informants in cases of
domestic violence.
• Children are too scared, traumatised/
ashamed or ignorant to report the crime
against adults.
• Attitude of small entrepreneurs to make
maximum profit by putting in minimum
investment.
• Myths such as sacrificing a child would
appease the Gods/Goddesses or having a
son is essential even if it means going for
pre-birth elimination of female foetus in
order to continue the family lineage or for
the soul to go to heaven, early marriage in
order to avoid community ostracism.
• Discrimination against girl child.
• Male dominated culture.
• Religious practices such as Devdasi
system or Bal Diksha..
•  Migration of male members to urban areas
    leaving women and children vulnerable to
    trafficking.Economic Factors
• Abject poverty leading to kidnapping,
selling and buying children especially
girls, trading in human organs, adoption,
raping minor girls, child labour, child
beggars
• Availability of children as cheap labour.
Political /Legal Factors
• Loopholes in the existing laws.
• Lack of accountability on the part of law
enforcement machinery and personnel of
Juvenile Justice Homes.
• Lack of proper monitoring system to
ensure strict implementation of laws.
• Inability to fulfil constitutional directives.
• Schemes on paper but no systematic
implementation.
hy do Girls Need More Protection?
In India, discrimination against the girl child
exists across economic class and caste.
In a patriarchal society, girls face
discrimination even before birth. If born, they
face discrimination and deprivation right from
birth, which results in higher number of girls
working as agriculture labourers, domestic
Boys and Girls have Equal RightsNeglect
emotional   financial   social   medical
servants, child prostitutes etc. Being docile
and obedient, girls are more prone to
victimisation, violence and exploitation and
hence need special provisions from the
Government, Legislature, Judiciary and
NGOs. The following illustration depicts
various ways in which a girl child is
discriminated against a boy child.
life time of discrimination and neglect
Prenatal: sex selection, female foeticide
Infancy:  infanticide, malnutrition
Childhood:  health and healthcare, attention,
love, care, education, sexual abuse, physical
violence, mental and emotional abuse
Adolescence:  early or forced marriage,
denial of education, forced sibling care,
sexual abuse, early pregnancy, sexual
violence, domestic violence, dowry
harassment, harassment as a result of
infertility or failure to produce a son,
desertion, witch hunting, medical violence
(needless hysterectomy, forced abortions)
Source: Skirting the Issue: The Girl Child by
Dr. Mira Shiva in Seen, but Not Heard, VHAI, 2002.The following case describes the case of
sexual abuse of a girl and  its severe impact
on a minor girl.
               ‘Forgetting’ the Ordeal
The sexual abuse of some children can be
so brutal, as to induce temporary amnesia.
Nine year old Priya was brought to Jagruti
(an NGO working on this issue) by the
police. She knew nothing about herself, her
parents, or her past, apart from her name.
She had cigarette burns all over her body.
She had forgotten how to perform basic
everyday functions, such as brushing her
teeth, going to the toilet and wearing clothes.
She would continue eating and drinking until
told to stop. She didn’t know the difference
between rice and curry. Priya would,
however, discard her underwear every ten or
15 minutes and then come and stand in front
of the people in the room to indicate that she
was ready for sex. It is anybody’s guess how
much this child was abused at an age when
children are supposed to dream and be
carefree.
Source: Sudha, P.; ‘Like  a Rainbow….’ Deccan
Herald;  29 October, 1999.
Child abuse and exploitation has adverse
effect on the physical, mental and socioemotional health of a child. Let us see in
details the health hazards faced by the
neglected children
Child Abuse is a CrimeHealth Concerns and Occupational
Hazards of Street /Neglected Children
Street children suffer from the worst kind of
deprivation and denial of basic necessities
such as education, health care, nutrition,
shelter, physical protection, security and
recreation.
• They are susceptible to drug / alcoholic
addiction
• They inhale dangerous materials such as
cobbler’s glue, correction fluid, gold/silver
spray paint, nail polish, rubber, cement,
gasoline etc., which give an escape from
reality and hunger.
• Their deprivation as described above result
in serious physical and psychological
problems.
• In order to obtain their regular dose of
drugs / alcohol and inhalants, they resort
to pick pocketing, petty thefts or serious
crimes.
• Some of them turn into hardened criminals
• Girl children are susceptible to
Reproductive Tract Infections (RTIs) as
they are invariably abused and exploited
sexually.
• Due to lack of personal and menstrual
hygiene, girl children are more prone to
skin and other infections.One more case shows how children get into
criminal acts or in conflict with law:
                Ensnared Young
School dropouts and runaway children on the
streets are soft targets for adult criminals on
the look out for new recruits to their gangs.
When Jeetu and Dinesh, two nine-year olds,
were arrested by the Government Railway
Police and booked for pick-pocketing at the
Patna Junction, their insistent plea was that
they were not thieves, but were forced into
crime by a local goon, Raju Sharma.
According to Dinesh, Raju caught hold of him
one evening and took him forcibly to his
hideout. Here, Raju threatened him with dire
consequences if he defied his orders to pick
the pockets of railway passengers. This
marked the beginning of Dinesh’s nightmarish
journey. In a few days, Dinesh roped in his
cousin, Jeetu. Both came from poor slum
families. Taking advantage of the confusion at
the entry points to compartments, the boys
would steal passengers’ wallets when they
were alighting or boarding trains. Once, Raju
even threatened to throw Jeetu off a running
train, when he failed to pick a single pocket
on a particular day. According to the police,
Raju had several young recruits like Jeetu
and Dinesh working for him.
Source: ‘Innocence behind the bars’; The Hindustan Times;
Patna; October 5, 1999; reproduced in My Name is Today; Vol.
VII, No. 3 & 4, Butterflies. New Delhi; pp. 73-74.
Deprivation and Denial leads to CrimeIn India, there are Constitutional and legal
provisions to protect children. However, for
various reasons these provisions have not
become effective. Let us have a look at the
provisions.
onstitutional Provisions
The Constitution of India, which became
operational in the year 1950, has provisions
for the protection of children, which are
summarised below:
Article 24 deals with Prohibition of
Employment of children below 14 years in
factories.
Article 23 of Part III of the Indian Constitution
relates to Fundamental Rights and under the
caption “Right Against Exploitation” prohibits
the trafficking of human beings.
Article 45 deals with provision for free and
cumpolsary education for children.
Article 51 (c) deals with refugee related
issues.
egal Provisions on Child Labour
The Government of India adopted a National
Child Labour Policy in 1987. The policy
consists of three complementary measures.
1. Legal action plan: Strict enforcement of
the provisions of the Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
and other child-related legislation.2. Focus on general development
programmes benefiting children,
wherever possible.
3. Area specific projects.
olicies related to Children
National Charter for Children 2003
The Charter reiterates the commitment of the
Government of India to the cause of children
in order to see that no child remains hungry,
illiterate or sick. Underlying this Charter is
the intent to secure for every child its
inherent right to be a child and enjoy healthy
and happy childhood, and to awaken the
conscience of the community in the wider
societal context to protect children from all
forms of abuse, while strengthening the
family, society and the nation.
National Plan of Action for Children
The Government of India released  the
National Plan of Action for Children 2005 on
20 August, 2005. The Plan has cited the UN
Convention as the guiding instrument for
implementing all rights for all children upto
the age of 18 years. It also states, “The
rights of the child as articulated in the
Constitution of India and the UN - CRC
should work in synchrony to ensure all rights
to all children.”
National Commission for the Protection of
Child Rights
The National Commission for the Protection
of Child Rights Bill was approved by the
Cabinet on 24 March, 2005. On coming into
force, the Commission shall have the powers
Policies are for Implementationto uphold child rights and to take suo moto
cognizance of child rights violations.
Judicial Interventions
The Supreme Court of India has passed
some significant judgements to combat child
labour. In its judgement on December 10,
1996 in a writ petition [ (civil) No. 465/1986]
has given certain directions regarding the
manner in which children working in
hazardous occupations are to be withdrawn
and rehabilitated as also the manner in which
the working conditions and occupations are
to be regulated and improved upon.
rogramme Interventions
There are programme interventions by the
Government and the NGOs to eradicate child
labour.
Juvenile Justice
Street children or other children who are
victims of violence may secure fair treatment
and rehabilitation under Juvenile Justice
System.
Juvenile Justice is commonly understood as
a notion of fairness and justice and also an
alternative system of dealing with children
through laws.
The Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment has been responsible for the
implementation and administration of the
Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, which has been
replaced by the Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Act, 2001 that has
come into force from 1,  April 2001.The new act defines “Juvenile” or “Child” as a
person who has not completed eighteen
years of age. This Act has a child - friendly
approach and provides for proper care,
protection and treatment and also for ultimate
rehabilitation of children in need of care and
protection.
Child Line India Foundation
Child Line India Foundation has been
established as an umbrella organisation to
identify, provide support services and to
monitor efficient service delivery of the
centres spread all over India.
The aim of Child Line is to ensure that “a
childhood to every child” is just a call away.
Help can be sought by any child on the street
or a victim of child abuse on telephone
number 1098 through the day and night or
24 hours child line service. Help arrives from
the police and support from identified NGOs.
The Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment has sought police participation
and support from the allied system,
consisting of the police, health care and
welfare, judiciary, education, transport labour,
media and corporate sector.
ole of Various Stake holders in
Protecting Children
As Government
• To work out a clear definition of ‘child’ in
the statutes of law.  At present different
laws refer to different age groups when
they describe a child.
Help Stop Child Abuse• To ensure that all the laws pertaining to
children are strictly implemented and the
guilty are punished.
• Law enforcement machinery and judiciary
should be made child friendly.
As Academic Institution
• Sensitise the teachers and students to the
issues related to child protection and
familiarise them to the remedial measures.
• Campaign in your school / college against
child trafficking, violence against children.
• Provide special sanitation facilities in
schools for girl children.
• Educate parents on parenting and caring
for children.
As NGOs
1
, CBOs
2
 , VOs
3
• Report the crime against children
immediately to the police, child line, and
media.
• Work on prevention of crimes against
children and rehabilitation of the victims.
• Give extra attention to provide special
protection to girls.
As Civil Society
• Boycott goods made by child labourers.
• Boycott restaurants, hotels and tea stalls
which employ and exploit children.
• Report any case of child abuse or
exploitation in your neighbourhood to
police or Child Line.
• Write and send articles to media based
on real cases of child abuse.• Set positive examples by helping a needy
child or by enabling the community to
rehabilitate the  abused/ exploited/
trafficked  children.
As Media
• Publish real cases of child abuse/
exploitation/ labour/ trafficking in order to
motivate the people to do something to
ease the situation.
• Publish/ broadcast/ telecast the
programmes that have successfully helped
children in difficult circumstances.
• Publish/ broadcast/ telecast the positive
anecdotes/cases to emphasise the role of
education, counseling, rehabilitation,
mentoring and empathy in transforming a
delinquent child to a humane child.
(Footnotes)
1
 Non Government Organisations
2
 Community Based Organisations
3
 Voluntary Organisations
Let us make the World Fit for ChildrenFor Children  Young People  Women
Centre for Health Education, Training and
Nutrition Awareness (CHETNA)
B-Block. IIIrd Floor, SUPATH II,
Opp. Vadaj Bus Terminus, Vadaj, Ashram Road,
Ahmedabad 3800013, Gujarat, India
Tel: + 91 - 079 - 27569100 -101
Email: chetna@icenet.net   Website: chetnaindia.org
About CHETNA
CHETNA
1, 
meaning “awareness” in several
Indian languages and an acronym for Centre for
Health Education, Training and Nutrition
Awareness is a non-government support
organisation based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
CHETNA’s mission is to contribute to the
empowerment of disadvantaged children,
adolescents and women to gain control over their
own, their families’ and communities’ health.
Beginning its activities in 1980, CHETNA has
broadened its activities in the field of nutrition,
health, education and development from a
“Rights” perspective.
CHETNA builds the management capacities of
education/health practitioners/supervisors/
managers with a view to enable them to
implement their field programmes from a holistic
and gender perspective and advocate for people
centered policies.
CHETNA develops need-based training and
education materials, which are widely
disseminated at the state, national and
international levels.
An Information and Documentation Centre (IDC)
addresses the information needs of individuals,
organisations, academicians, reserachers and
students working on health, education and
development concerns.
CHETNA has been identified as a Regional
Resource Centre (RRC) for Gujarat State and
the Union Territories of Daman, Diu and Dadra
Nagar Haveli to provide technical assistance to
NGOs to improve RCH, facilitate GO-NGO
partnership, document and disseminate
successful approaches and provide inputs to GOI
to ensure effective implementation of policies.

The Rights of the Girl Child in India 169

The Rights of the Girl Child in India 169

the Rights of the giRl Child in india

devaki Jain*

Background

For those of us who have been engaged with the 

Human Rights Movement – a movement which 

tries to both understand what rights are, as well 

as how to affirm them, – figuring out the kind 

of spaces, laws, and social contexts that make 

the journey of those who wish to affirm their 

rights effective, new issues and problems are 

arising. This is a natural concomitant of any forward movement in areas of thought and action. 

We learn as we move along – whether it is about 

conceptualization or institutions or what can 

be called challenges. 

In no area is this more evident than in the 

attempt to bring children’s rights into the overall human rights rubric. One of the most classical expositions of some of the historical as well 

as contextual questions that arise in dealing 

with this issue both in thought and action is the 

essay by Dr. Emma Rothschild entitled “An Infinity of Girls.”

1

In this essay Rothschild writes about how 

during the French Revolution, men regarded 

women as incapable of serious political talk, of 

exercising their political rights. She quotes no 

less a person than Robespierre who referred to 

women’s opinions as the babble of women and 

clubbed women and children together, as persons who would not have the judgment, the 

mental capacity to participate in political debates and therefore should not be given equal 

rights or rights of equal citizenship with men. 

These demeaning attitudes towards women’s 

rights are not a surprise to women’s rights activists. It has been a phenomenon that persists 

in many parts of global society. 

Emma Rothschild in her story of the issues involved in understanding and affirming 

the rights of children, points to these corners 

which cloud clarity in any massive campaign to 

affirm children’s rights in the same way as one 

might affirm the rights of adults. One important consideration that she calls our attention 

to is, that when the child’s rights are being affirmed, it is not by the child herself, but it is 

through the proxy of an adult. In that sense, an Realizing the Rights of the Child 170

autonomous, self-generated affirmation of her 

right by a child in ways in which adults affirm 

rights, cannot be seen on equal terms. 

The rights of the child are always mediated 

by the adults, either those who are working for 

child rights or others. However, invoking the 

rather mean perception of the question whether 

women should have rights, prevalent during 

the French Revolution, Emma  Rothschild also leaves the space open for an evolution of 

thought, understanding and negotiating instruments for making a more genuine articulation of children’s rights, as if it came from the 

minds and voices of children themselves. 

At a roundtable on “Building bridges for 

equality – mobilizing actions” for the human 

rights of children and women held in partnership with UNIFEM by the Society for International Development

2

 in New York, June, 2001, 

I invoked an experience which I was privileged 

to have, in Petermarysburg in South Africa in 

1998. A meeting had been called to address the 

gigantic problems being faced in South Africa by the “emergence” of thousands of orphans 

due to the HIV-AIDS epidemic. Caregivers, such 

as nurses, health workers, local bureaucrats and 

politicians were gathered to figure out how to 

deal with this problem. The problem was exacerbated due to the fact that, in traditional South 

African society, families took in any member of 

the family who was dispossessed. But the intensity of motherless/fatherless children had 

increased so much that the elder woman who 

usually was the provider, could not absorb any 

more of the orphaned children. 

The situation arose whether children could 

be housed in orphanages. Whether there were 

enough adults then to look after those orphanages was a new question which led the assembly 

to suggest that the children might themselves 

manage the orphanages as communal management. This again would require for them to 

earn their livelihood as children, to be able to 

manage their own affairs, which brought up 

the question which is now currently being addressed in India, namely do children have the 

right to want to earn their own livelihood and 

be independent of the state and their parents?

A further question that came up in Petermarysburg was: How could one discuss children’s rights without weaving them in with 

women’s rights? The idea of discussing children 

without mother’s rights showed the deeply embedded nature of children’s rights in relation to 

mothers, and their ability to affirm their rights. 

Graca Machel, who chaired the Eminent Persons Group

3

 which was dealing with children in 

armed conflict and I, as a member of the Eminent Persons Group set up for that study, came 

out with a sense that children’s rights have often to be seen in contextual ways and cannot 

be made into a separate rubric, as can be done 

with the overall discourse on human rights. 

It was also pointed out loudly and clearly in 

Petermarysburg that if women had more power 

to affirm their will, if the importance of women’s rights to affirm their individual rights had 

been more clearly articulated and put on the 

ground, the HIV-AIDS epidemic would not have 

been so virulent. It was their inability to say no 

to sexual demands that had added to the virulence of the spread of HIV-AIDS in South Africa – and has then lead to numerous deaths of 

women in turn to a flood of orphans.

All these questions, answers and concerns 

are relevant to the situation in India today. India has been given a high rank in the list of 

countries that are facing a massive spread of 

the HIV-AIDS epidemic. Simultaneously, India 

is also ranked as one of those countries in the The Rights of the Girl Child in India 171

world where child malnutrition is widely prevalent. Another well recognized phenomenon recognized is the elimination of children of female 

sex from the womb.

4

Finally, currently a very hot debate on India’s recent legislation making the use of child 

labour a criminal offence. Little girls are often 

used as domestic labour, apart from working in 

factories, which make matches or fire crackers. 

By making it a criminal offence, India hopes to 

remove this blot from her social landscape. However, in a situation of acute poverty and hunger, anyone who can bring in income – infant, 

child, women, old has become crucial. When children are moved back from earning a wage, it is 

often suggested that they then will be sold into 

prostitution in explicit and subtle ways or killed 

in order not to have to feed another mouth. 

It is important when looking at the bigger picture of the struggle for human rights, to 

be aware of these layers of concern and consequence in looking at the girl child. 

Coming nearer home

In some sense, South Asia can be proud of having drawn attention to the girl child as far back 

as the 80s. It could be argued that the calling attention was in response to the extremely unjust 

and harsh situation of girl children in South 

Asia. While discrimination against the female 

of the species is worldwide; and while sex-selective abortion, or feticide as it is sometimes 

called, is prevalent not only particularly in India, but also in Korea and China, as has been 

pointed out by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, 

the overall statistics on the condition of women with special reference to the young, has been 

extremely pernicious. 

It should also be mentioned that it was the 

women’s movement, both in India and in the 

sub-continent, networking and communicating 

over decades, often enabled by the spaces offered by the U.N. agencies, who came together 

to suggest to the first conference of the SAARC 

Region, namely the South Asian Association for 

Females per 1000 males

960

950

940

930

920

1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991

955

950

945

946

941

930

933

927Realizing the Rights of the Child 172

Regional Cooperation, that one of their themes 

should be the girl child. 

Secondly, over the decades, India has had 

many programs addressed specifically to the 

girl child, almost doing what is called positive 

discrimination in her favour. In the last decade, 

there have been programmes in the different 

States of India, which for example, would open 

a bank account for the girl child of a poor family 

and not a boy child. Forms of encouraging parents to cherish the girl child, even if the incentive was as crude as a monetary incentive. 

But statistics on the situation of the girl 

child in India do not make for comfort. 

Given the enormous progress India has 

made in health care and nutrition for its women and children, one would expect a steady increase in the number of women in the population. It is shocking that the reverse has 

happened. The female to male ratio has become 

worse, not better, in the last 70 years.

5

Deficits in nutrition and health-care also 

overwhelmingly target female children. Karlekar

6

 cites research, indicating a definite bias in 

feeding boys milk and milk products and eggs. 

In Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh [States in India], it is usual for girls and women to eat less 

than men and boys and to have their meal after 

the men and boys have finished eating. Greater 

mobility outside the home provides boys with 

the opportunity to eat sweets and fruit from 

saved-up pocket money or from money given 

to buy articles for food consumption. In case 

of illness, it is usually boys who have preference in health care. More is spent on clothing 

for boys than for girls. All of which also affects 

morbidity. 

Status of children in India – some facts

7

1. 2.5 million Children die in India every year, 

accounting for one in five deaths in the world, 

with girls being 50% more likely to die. 

2. The National Aids Control Organisation has 

estimated 55,000 HIV infected children (0–14 

years) in the Country in 2003, according to UNAIDS, it is 0.16 million children. 

3. The very existence of the girl child is under 

threat. Defying the normal male-female balance, 

and the higher survival capacity of girl babies and 

greater life expectancy of women to men prevalent 

in human populations, the female to male balance 

in India has been adverse to females for at least 

the past 100 years. The 1901 National Census recorded a female to male ratio of 972 to 1000, for 

all ages. Virtually every subsequent census showed 

a worsening decline. 

4. The Government of India in its report to 

the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 

said, “Every year” 12 million girls are born – three 

million of whom do not survive to see their 15th

birthday. About one-third of these deaths occur 

in the first year of life and it is estimated that 

every sixth female death is directly due to gender discrimination.

5. Almost all government’s health policies seem 

to have an underlying family planning agenda. 

Health activists have analyzed that with its emphasis on population control; the rural health mission is no different. Over the years it has become 

quite clear that if people are forced to limit the 

size of the families, they shall do so at the cost of 

the girl baby, even if it means that they have to 

“import” brides from outsides their states or their 

communities.Realizing the Rights of the Child 276

Matei Bals” Infectious Disease Institute.

Cf. www.cnlas.ro

9   Juveniles in Romania are considered adults 

from the age of 14.

10   One aid organization working on behalf of the 

right of HIV-positive children to treatment is the 

international organization Terre des hommes 

with headquarters in Lausanne.

11   Aktualisierung zu HIV/AIDS in der Europäischen 

Region, Weltgesundheitsorganisation, Kopenhagen, 12. September 2006, http://www.euro.

who.int/document/rc56/gtb01a.pdf, Anhang.

12   Institutul de boli infectionase “Prof. Dr. Matei 

Bals”. Compartimentul pentru moniorizarea şi 

evaluarea infectiei HIV/SIDA in Romania. 

www.cnlas.ro

13  Geser, Janette Weiss: Time to deliver HIV/AIDS 

in Eastern Europe, http://www.aids.ch/d/

hivpositiv/pdf/referate/Time%20to%20deliver

%20HIV.pdf, St. Gallen 20.09.06.

See also Jahn Christian: Ein Drittel erfüllt die 

PISA-Anforderungen nicht. Moskauer Deutsche 

Zeitung, 5. Juli 2005, http://www.mdz-moskau.

eu/print.php?date=1120581626.

14   Oral information from Janette Weiss Geser, Infekt 

Team Schweiz-Russland, St.Gallen, 26.09.06.

The Rights of the Girl Child in India

Devaki Jain

*

 Assisted by Nageena Nikhat Khaleel, Research Associate working on Human Rights at Singamma 

Sreenivasan Foundation, Bangalore.

1  Rothschild, E. (2000), “An infinity of girls: The Political Rights of Children in Historical 

Perspective,” Centre for History and Economics, 

University of Cambridge, UK.

2   Devaki Jain: Women and child rights in the context of Globalisation, Speech delivered at Roundtable on “Building bridges for equality – mobilizing actions” for the human rights of children and 

women, organized by UNICEF/Society for International Development (SID)/Bernard van Leer 

Foundation at New York on 14–15 June, 2001.

3   Klot, J.F., and Sowa, T.: Graça Machel – The Impact Notes 277

of War on Children, A review of progress since 

the 1996 United Nations Report on the Impact of 

Armed Conflict on Children, C. Hurst & Co. 

(Publishers) Ltd., United Kingdom, (Co-producer 

UNICEF), 2001.

4   Aravamudan, G., Disappearing Daughters: 

The Tragedy of Female Foeticide, Penguin 

Publishers New Delhi 2007

5   Sen, K.M., and Kumar, S.A.K.: “Women in India – 

How Free? How Equal?,” UNDP-Report Commissioned by the Office of the Resident Coordinator 

in India, 2001.

6   Karlekar, M.: The Girl Child in India: Does she 

have any rights? Canadian Women Studies, 

March: 1995.

7   Meenakshi Ganguly Thukral, Status of Children 

in India Inc, HAQ Centre for Child Rights, 2005.

8  Jain, D., and Chand, M.: Report on a time allocation study – its methodological implications, 

presented at the technical seminar on women’s 

work and employment, 9–11 April 1982. 

Ibid, Indian Women; Today and Tomorrow. 

Padmaja Naidu Memorial Lecture, Published by 

Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New 

Delhi, 1982.

9   Gita Aravamudan: Disappearing Daughters. 

The Tragedy of Female Foeticide. Penguin Books 

(India), 2007

10   Devaki Jain, “Through the Looking Glass of Poverty,” New Hall Cambridge, October 19, 2001

11   Dreze, J., and Sen, A.: Hunger and Public Action, 

Oxford Clarendon Press, 1989.

12   Jain, D.: “Through the Looking Glass of Poverty”, 

New Hall Cambridge, October 19, 2001.

13   Human Development Report 2000, UNDP.

Bibliography

Borooah V.K.: “Do children in India benefit from 

having mothers who are literate?,” This study is 

based on unit record data from 1993–94 

Human Development Survey carried out by 

the National Council of Applied Economic 

Research, New Delhi, April, 2000. 

Devaki Jain: “Children’s Rights and Women’s 

Rights: Some connections and disconnections,” 

Development, Vol. 44(2), 2001.

Ibid: Report on Magadi Child Labour, sponsored by 

National Human Rights Commission, January, 

1999. 

Dipak Basu: “Combating Child Labour,” The Hindu, 

March 7, 2000. 

Ganesh. N: “Child abuse stems from family – a study: 

Vulgar talks, gestures also forms of abuse,” 

Asian Age, March 1, 2000. 

Iftikhar Ahmed: “Getting Rid of Child Labour,” Economic and Political Weekly, July 3, 1999.

Joseph M.P (ed.): “IPEC in India- 1992–95: Looking 

Back,” International Labour Organisation, 

International Programme on the Elimination of 

Child Labour, New Delhi, 1996. 

Maharukh Adenwalla: The Rights of the Child, 

Human Rights Education for Beginners; National 

Human Rights Commission, New Delhi, 2005.

Mari Bhat P.N.: “Demographic Transition, Family Size 

and Child Schooling,” Prepared for the Programme of Research on Human Development 

of the National Council of Applied Economic 

Research, New Delhi, April, 2000. 

Ibid: “Levels and Differentials in Maternal Mortality 

in Rural India – new evidence from sisterhood 

data,” Prepared for the Programme of Research 

on Human Development of the National Council 

of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi. 

Punyapriya Dasgupta: “Children are dying in Iraq,” 

Deccan Herald, February 23, 2000. 

Saviprasad H.R.: “Crying for Attention,” Deccan 

Herald, March 19, 2000. 

Vasanthi Raman: “Politics of Childhood – 

Perspec-tives from the South,” Economic and Political 

Weekly, November 11, 2000. 

Vijayaraghavan; G.N.V. Brahman; B. Suryaprakasam; 

Kamala Krishnaswamy and A. Shariff: “SocioEconomic Factors and Nutritional Status of PreSchool Children and Adults at Village Level,” Prepared for the Programme of Research on Human 

Development of the National Council of Applied 

Economic Research, New Delhi, April, 2000. Realizing the Rights of the Child 278

Committee on the Rights of the Child, Second periodic reports of States parties due in 2000: 

India. 16/07/2003. CRC/C/93/Add.5.

Challenges and Successes in Addressing 

Child Sex Tourism in Southeast Asia

Amihan V. Abueva

1   ECPAT Australia, Travel with Care, 2000.

2   ECPAT International and ECPAT Australia, ECPAT 

Information Booklet, July 1996.

3  ECPAT International, Questions and 

Answers about CSEC, 3rd edition 2006.

4   O’Grady, The ECPAT Story, 1996.

5   ECPAT Global Monitoring Report, 2006.

6  Ker Munthit, Associated Press, 2004-03-29.

7   http://www.nytimes.com/ The New York Times, 

James Brooke.

8   Beddoe, Christine, 2006.

9   Fry, Erika, “Closing the Loopholes,” Sunday 

Bangkok Post, 24/9/2006.

10  Beddoe, Christine, “The End of the Line for 

Child Exploitation,” 2006.

11  www.ecpat.net

12   www.thecode.org

13   ECPAT Global Monitoring Report: Thailand, 2006.

14   ECPAT AccorGB.PDF

15   Child Wise, 2006.

16   ECPAT International.

17   Beddoe, Christine, “The End of the Line for 

Child Exploitation,” 2006.

18   Beddoe, Christine, “The End of the Line for 

Child Exploitation,” 2006.

“Street Children” in Brazil

Karin Schmitt

1  UNFPA: World Population Report 2007, New York, 

N.Y. 2007.

2   The World Bank: Inequality and Economic Development in Brazil. A World Bank Country Study, 

Washington, D.C. 2004.

3   Brazil has achieved dramatic results in improving 

living conditions: Infant mortality declined from 

around 50 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 32 

per 1,000 in 2004. Net enrollment in basic education rose from 85% in 1990 to 97% in 2004. Brazilians with access to an improved water source 

rose from 83% of the population in 1990 to 

89% in 2003. See World Bank: World Development Indicators 2007, Washington, D.C. 2007.

4   See also UNICEF: The State of the World’s 

Children 2007, New York, NY 2007.

5   World Bank: World Development Indicators 2007, 

Washington, D.C. 2007. 

6   UNICEF: The State of the World’s Children 2007, 

New York, NY 2007.

7  http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/

8   For any further information consider 

http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/BrazilHomicide-1980-02-5mar04.htm

9   See the Economist (US) dated July 31, 1993.

10   See also Lusk, Mark and Derek T. Mason: Fieldwork with Rio’s Street Children. In: Rizzini, Irene

(Ed.): Children in Brazil Today – A Challenge 

for the Third Millennium. Editora Universitaria 

Santa Ursula, Rio de Janeiro, 1994. 

Situation of the Rights of the Child 

in Morocco 

Nadia Sebti

1  Ministère de la Santé, Direction de la population, 

Division de la SMI “Santé de l’enfant au Maroc, 

situation et orientation stratégique,” April 2005.

2   “Etude de diagnostic de l’Approvisionnement 

en Eau Potable (AEP) du monde rural au Maroc – 

ONEP/FAO September 2005” 

3   Idem.

4   Plan d’Action National pour l’Enfance 2006–2015 

“Maroc digne de ses enfants,” edited by 

the Secrétariat d’Etat chargé de la famille, de 

l’enfance et des personnes handicapées, l’Observatoire National des Droits de l’Enfant and 

UNICEF.

5   Ministère de la Santé, Direction de la Population, 

“Santé de l’enfant au Maroc, situation et 

orientation stratégique,” April 2005.

6   Ministère de la Santé, Direction de la Population, 

“Politique de Santé de l’Enfant au Maroc: Realizing the Rights of the Child 294

Cooperation (SDC). He was a co-author of 

the Federal Council’s Guidelines North-South 

and deputy-head of the division in charge of 

their implementation in the SDC. In 1996, 

he was promoted to head of the Development 

Policy and Research Division of the SDC and 

Secretary of the Federal Council’s Consultative Commission for International Cooperation. 

From 1999 to 2001, he was chargé d’affaires 

of the Swiss Embassy in Maputo and countrydirector of Swiss Development Cooperation 

in Mozambique. On his return to headquarters,

he became deputy-head of the Political Affairs 

Division IV, in charge of the Peace Policy and 

Human Security Section.

Thomas Hammarberg is Commissioner for Human 

Rights of the Council of Europe. 

He began his six-year term of 

office in April 2006. Formerly, he

was Secretary General of the 

Olof Palme International Center, 

Sweden. His other positions 

have included those of Regional 

Advisor for Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus at the office of the UN High Commissioner 

for Human Rights and Swedish Representative 

for the multilateral Middle East peace process. 

He was also the Personal Representative of 

the Swedish Prime Minister to the Special Session on Children of the UN General Assembly 

and Chairman of the International Council 

on Human Rights Policy. Previously, he was Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General 

for Human Rights in Cambodia, SecretaryGeneral of Amnesty International, and Secretary General of Swedish Save the Children. He has 

also worked as the foreign editor of the daily 

newspaper Expressen, diplomatic correspondent 

for the Swedish Radio, and as a teacher.

Gitti Hug studied Business Administration and 

Economics at the University of St.Gallen (Switzerland) 

(1972–1976) and Law in Zurich 

(1977–1980). She has been practicing as an attorney at law in 

Zurich sind 1981. She is a senior 

partner in a medium-sized 

Swiss law firm with offices in Zurich and Geneva. 

Gitti Hug focuses on Intellectual Property and 

Art Law on which topics she regularly publishes 

and is a member and vice-president of a cantonal 

appeal and supervision authority on public and 

guardianship law.

Devaki Jain has lectured in economics at Delhi University and was a founding 

member of the Indian Association of Women’s Studies. She 

advised the National Commission on Women of the 

Government of India and 

was a member of Julius Nyerere’s South Commission. Her academic research and advocacy, influenced largely by Gandhian philosophy, have focused on issues of 

women’s rights, democratic decentralization, 

and people-centered development. Her latest publication includes “Women, Development and the UN: A Sixty Year Quest for Equality and Justice.” Indiana University Press 

2005. She was conferred the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honor.