Question

Article on lets make childhood safe for children.

Answer 1

In 2007, the then President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had said, “The rights of women and children and their aspirations are of paramount importance in our march towards an inclusive and equitable society”. Despite the numerous measures taken in the country, Indians hardly ever ask the question – How safe is my child?

In India, child abuse is highly misunderstood. Most parents fail to look beyond safety in terms of constant chaperonage. Child abuse may take many forms – from physical violence to sexual abuse, from emotional neglect to malnutrition, discrimination to exploitation. The nation suffers from a deep seated awareness of the various forms of abuse and neglect that children suffer from.

Child Labour

A look at the country’s child labour scenario is heart wrenching. The 2011 Census report pegs the number of working children in the country between 5 and 14 years of age to be at 43.53 lakh. A number of NGOs, however, believe that the official count falls short, that the number of child labourers in the country is far more. Despite the presence of a Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act which details some 18 occupations and 65 processes which are hazardous and in which child labour may not be employed, it is estimated that a number of these regularly employ children under 14 years. Manufacturing of match sticks, crackers, and precious stone cutting sector have to be highlighted as some of the hazardous occupations that employ children. Agriculture engages about 60 percent child labour. Poverty, lack of social security, and lack of wage negotiability are key reasons for employment of child labour in the country. According to UNICEF India has the greatest child labour force in the world. While domestic labour is rampant, nothing much is done about it until some case of abuse crops up in the media.