Mountain Children Propose Rights for Children

The state of Uttaranchal currently has no comprehensive policy on or rights of children. This is a report by 16yr old Tushar, who attended a conference with children from the mountains focusing on this issue.

The Mountain Childrens Foundation (MCF) organized a children’s conference for drawing up Uttaranchal’s Child Policy from the 18th to the 21st of May, 2006 at Aketa Hotel, Dehradun. Over a hundred and twenty children of various ages from diverse regions all over the state gathered at the venue and lived together for an extensive period of over 72 hours. The conference aimed to provide a platform for interaction and discussion among the children so that they could get in touch with each other's problems and ideas and put their heads together to work out viable solutions and action plans.

Many of these young people have already formed MCF chapters in their communities. They have been working together towards a more equitable society in their villages for the past three years or more.

This was the first time that I was to attend a conference of such magnitude and importance, and, as it turned out, it was quite an eye-opener. The meeting was kick started with a traditional lamp lighting ceremony. The enthusiasm and eagerness of the children at being part of this landmark conference under the esteemed banner of MCF was there for all to see. They brought the proceedings under way with thunderous applause. To say that I was floored by their confidence and team-spirit would be an understatement. The kids were kept pepped up over the long period by puppet shows, games, story telling sessions and the like. It must be mentioned that these recreational activities had at their hearts a learning or motivational experience. No opportunity was missed to transform the children, most of them from the rural and backward areas in the largely neglected regions of the country, with restricted access to education, into well-informed, responsible and mature citizens.

In a world where most people seem only too happy to shirk responsibility and work towards selfish motives, it was heartening indeed to see so many young children willing to go that extra mile to make a difference to society at large. It is worthwhile to know that society, to them, includes both mankind and environment. They are as infuriated at the cutting of trees as they are at female feticide.

Each child was supremely aware of the problems pervading his region and was eager to come forward with his views. An opportunity to speak brought with it sheer excitement. There was a healthy and constructive discussion over a wide range of issues, garnished with some passionate debates. The confidence of the children reflected in the comfort with which they conducted the meeting, referring to each other as brother or sister.

There was an in-depth analysis of the accomplishments of the various Bal-Panchayats as well as of the milestones yet to be covered. The steps that can be taken to address the problems were discussed by all. The co-operation among such young children who had never met before was overwhelming. This, I should say, was the underlying motive of the conference- to bring children from the nook and crannies of the mountainous state under one roof, to help them become acquainted with others like them who are engaged in similar social work.

The last day of the conference witnessed three esteemed guests, namely Ms. Radha Raturi, Chief Secretary of Finance, Social Welfare, and Woman & Child Welfare, Uttaranchal, Ms. Kanchan Choudhary Bhattacharya, Director General of Police, Uttaranchal, and Mr. Sudarshan Agarwal, the Honourable Governor of Uttaranchal. A memorandum containing a draft of Child Rights had been prepared and was presented to each of the guests, who in turn promised to do their utmost in their official and unofficial capacities to help the children living in the mountains. They also inspected the charts which had the Bal Panchayats achievements and objectives compiled on them.

The children promulgated and presented rights that must be guaranteed to all children. These included:
The Right to an Identity
It should be ensured that the birth of every child should be registered at the village level.
• Children should know the exact date of their birth and have a birth certificate to prove it.
• All children have a right to be born whether boy or girl, therefore female feticide should be banned.
• Every child should receive complete immunizations.
• So that we can have access to health care, quality health facilities should be available at the village level.
• There should be no kind of discrimination or preference among us. We should all have an equal opportunity to progress.
• We should get nutritional food.

The Right to Safety
• We should have a safe family and living environment.
• We should not be drawn into social or political conflicts.
• The right to safety should be specially given to girls. To enable them to protect themselves they should be provided self-defense classes in school.
• Arrangements should be made to provide information for girls about female health and hygiene separately from the boys.
• There should be a ban on children under the age of 18 driving a vehicle.
• Neglect of children by their family or other responsible persons should be a punishable offence.
• In the village we should have some kind of help line available to us so that we can seek help in case of an emergency.
• Child labour should be banned from our society. Arrangements should be made for the rehabilitation of children who are currently forced to work.
• During a disaster, facilities should be available to help and support children especially.

The Right to Development
• Schools should be available even in distant villages. All schools should be equipped with adequate educational materials, sports/play equipment, and computers.
• We should have the opportunity to advance and progress in our lives based on our individual skills and abilities. Schools should provide curriculums to meet these different needs. Thus if a child has a talent for vocational education, he/she should be provided with that type of education.
• The quality of education in government schools need to be improved.
• Children who have dropped out of school should be supported and provided with opportunities to study and gain knowledge so that they too have the right to develop.
• We should have opportunities and time for play and entertainment as well.
• The state should provide support and assistance for physically handicapped children.

The Right to Participation
• We should have the right to participate and share our views in village council meetings.
• An environment should be established through which we can easily place our concerns before society and the government.
• We should have the right to take leadership roles in various activities in the community and our children’s groups should be recognized and respected in our communities.
• When schools have a guardians/parent teacher meeting, children should also be included and allowed to participate in the discussion.
• We should have the right to participate in our family’s decisions.
• We should have the right to speak to Government officials and other community leaders.
• On a governance level, we should always be consulted when policies that affect us are formulated.
• Our help and support should be enlisted for any activity or social work that is to be carried out in the village or in society.
• We should have the right to be treated as equals especially in the case of inheritance.

Needless to say, the monumental work done by the children at such a tender age received tremendous appreciation from everybody, including the aforementioned guests, holding posts of great power. It only inspired each one of us to tread our chosen path, undeterred, and impressed one and all with the difference that children can make.

The Mountain Children’s Forum (MCF) helps young people improve their lives by giving them a voice and a role in the development of their communities.

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Posted by collective at June 25, 2006 10:05 AM