New Delhi: A recent survey conducted by NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) shows that two out of 10 people in south Delhi, considered the most socially progressive area in the city, are unaware of what comprises child labour.
The survey noted that the so-called educated and affluent living in the region think that anyone over the age of 10 is not a child.
Madhu, a child rights activist, remarks: “It is shocking to see that people are not only unaware, but they are also least bothered about a child’s rights.”
Madhu cites regular arguments with residents and threatening to report employing young children as domestic helps or car cleaners to police.
CRY bares more startling facts. The NGO’s study reveals that most people had no hesitation in hiring a child as young as 10. And none of these people ever considered providing education to these kids.
Slamming the government agencies for lax enforcement of child rights, Shantha Sinha, an anti-child labour activist of international repute, says: “There is no problem in legislations. The problem is with weak enforcements. Because implementation is so lax, there is no fear of the law among perpetrators of such crimes.”
Sinha, who is also the chairperson of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), felt it was high time the Ministry of Education and Women & Child Development ministry stepped in to take proactive measures.
NGOs claim that most child labourers come from the categories of dalits (low caste) and the minorities. And an overwhelming number are girls, who are often subjected to physical abuse.
Madhu cites the example of 12-year-old Nisha, who worked as a full-time maid in a businessman’s house. “Initially, Nisha’s mother would bring her daughter along, as there was no one to take care of her at home after she came back from school. But gradually, when the little girl began assisting her mother, she was made to quit her studies.”
On finding Nisha alone, the employer’s son would try to entice the little girl with biscuits and chocolates. One day, on the pretext of showing her a film on TV, he tried to molest her in his room. But when the mother came to know, she bravely went ahead and sought help from an NGO. The complaint was lodged with the police, but no action was taken.
In yet another incident, a 13-year-old housemaid was rescued from the house of a doctor couple residing in Dwarka, a southwest Delhi colony.
While the couple holidayed abroad, they left their maid at home to look after the house. The child had only some flour and salt to eat in their absence and starved.
Unable to bear anymore, the frightened and hungry child peeped out of the window in the balcony and cried for help. Some maids working in the housing complex approached the neighbours, who called an NGO, Shakti Vahini. And with help from the police, the child was rescued.”
Resident of a village in Jharkhand, the girl had been forced out of her school by her uncle, who later passed her on to a trafficker. Through a placement agency, she was later pushed into domestic work and the salary was given to the uncle.
The stories are endless. The results nil.
