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National Children’s Commission:
Background to this note:
The Government of India announced the setting up of the National
Children’s Commission in January 2001. However its composition,
structure and roles are yet to be finalised.
We, the National Movement of Working Children ( note
attached), in our fifth meeting held at Bangalore (April 27, 28 & 29,
2001), discussed the proposed National Children’s Commission. These
inputs of ours, the National Movement of Working Children, will be
circulated extensively in order to bring in children’s direct inputs
into the formation and functioning of the National Children’s
Commission.
We have come up with the following key issues that are grouped under
four heads:
- The role of the National Children’s Commission (NCC). [What should
the National Commission do?]
- The composition of the NCC. [Who should its members be?]
- The location of the NCC. [Where should it be located?]
- The functioning of the NCC. [How should it work?]
Our inputs were further developed during the Child Labour Day
celebrations of the Karnataka State Working Children’s Movement on April
30, 2001
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Just as adults have a Human
Rights Commission, we children also need our own Commission. |
Key issues presented by the National Movement of Working Children
(NMWC):
- The role of the NCC. [What should the National Commission do?]
- We children have our own rights. The Commission should make it
possible for us to realise them
- The Commission should ensure that the State makes available to us
all that is due to us according to law
- The Commission should ensure that we should not face any kind of
problems
- The Commission should make sure that no rights of any children are
violated
- The Commission should discuss children’s problems and find
solutions for them
- The Commission should create opportunities for us to present our
issues. We children should be able to discuss all our problems with
the Commission and to find solutions together
- It should help us to access an education that is of quality and
appropriate to us as stated in the Convention on the Rights of the
Child
- It should make sure that no working child has any problems
- It should support other unions and organisations in their work
- The Commission should prevent exploitation of children
- Our opinions should be reached to the government through the
Commission
- The Commission should stop all exploitation of children by
employers
- The Commission should ensure that children have access to all the
facilities we need
- The police should be friendly with children. If they are not, the
Commission should take action. They should provide training to the
police about children
- The Commission should be concerned about school dropouts. It
should find out why children are leaving school and work with other
organisation’s to solve their problems. It should improve the school
system to meet our needs
- Children face a lot of problems because of alcohol. The Commission
should shut down all liquor shops
Who should its members be?
The Commission should have representatives of our own
organisations. Children should be represented in the Commission – with
organised representation of working children, school going children
and disabled children
The adult members of the Commission should be aware of children’s
rights. They should be people who are capable of understanding
children’s situations. The members should be those who are full of
love and affection for us. The members should be those who are capable
of finding solutions to the problems we children face. The members
should be those capable of paying attention to us and to hold
discussions with us. They should be aware of children’s organisations.
Most importantly they should respect children and be able to fill them
with happiness
The members should be able to respect and support the decisions
children take. They should be able to provide quick relief to children
The Commission should include representatives of the National
Movement of Working Children. It should have representatives of
Children’s Panchayats.
The Commission should include representatives of organisations
that work with us. Its members should include our well wishers.
It should have representatives of government officials, labour
unions and people who have a legal background. It should also have
doctors and counselors.
Where should it be located?
Some of the facilities we need like police stations and hospitals
are not accessible to us. They are too far away. The Commission should
not be like that. It has to be always accessible to us
We should be able to contact the Commission easily through post
and phone. Its phone number should have least number of digits so that
children can remember it easily (like Makkala Sahayavani – Children’s
Helpline’s 1098)
The Commission should be located within the village and slums at
such locations where they can be easily accessed
The Commission should be in each state. There should be an office
at the national level. There should be links between the different
centers of the Commission.
Where ever the governments are not doing good work, the Commission
should definitely be present
Where ever there are large number of children working , the
Commission should be present there
There should be Children’s Commissions in all countries of the
world so that the children of other countries can also benefit from
it.
How should it work?
It should ensure that all children get justice. How ever difficult
the problem is, it should work in such a way that our rights are
realised. It should ensure that all children are able to access all
the facilities they need
It should give respect to us
It should work in such a way that children can reach it at
anytime, in any situation and inform our problems
Many times we children face problems because governments do not do
what they are supposed to do. The Commission should never do that. It
should work in such a way that no children are inconvenienced
It should solve our problems immediately
Even if the problem is a small one, the Commission should give it
a lot of importance
There should be a lot of publicity about the Commission in all
places
FURTHER RECCOMENDATIONS
Problems faced by girls:
Some children get married as children. Sometimes one man may marry
several women
We are not allowed to go out of our houses
When a husband is dead wives are not remarried. Their ‘Kumkuma’,
‘thali’ are removed. But when a wife dies the husbands marry again
Girls are not supposed to talk about others – especially about men
When we work in other people’s houses they look down upon us. They
give us stale food. If any thing accidentally falls and breaks they
shout at us and beat us. We get very scared and we can stop thinking
if we are always alone we don’t learn anything about the world. We
become speechless. We can get mad
Girls who live on the streets have no bathroom facilities or place
to sleep. Due to this we face a lot of problems
Those of us who work as maids do not get paid well. If we are not
able to do something we are beaten. Nobody takes care of our health.
If we don’t get up early they pour hot water on us or kick us
Many girls have health problems
Girls don’t have any rights. When girls speak to boys elders get
angry
They always tell us ‘you don’t go to school. Go and work’ They
feel however much a girl studies she has to go to her husband’s house.
What is the point in her studying.
We are not allowed to go out of our houses after 6 o’clock
I wanted to study. I was forced to do work. There I had to work
from 6 in the morning and 10 at night. I would get paid 50 to 80
rupees per week
Girls face problems because of dowry. If they don’t pay dowry they
don’t get married. If they get married and don’t pay dowry they get
exploited or killed
Girls have no position in the house like boys do. This is because
parents think when boys grow up they will look after them. And that
when boys get married they get dowry.
On our way to schoolboys would scare us. Many times we are also
abused on the bus and in so many places
When I wanted to join Sangha my mother asked ‘what will you gain
from it?’ She went and spoke to activist, discussed this with him and
then let me join the union
Our neighbours look at us with bad intention
Some children work as labourers. Others go to school. Those who
don’t go look at those you do and wish they could go to school too
Girls don’t have any freedom
When we work girls get less wages than boys
Some time girls have to earn and support their husband’s when
husband’s drink too much or have health problems they cannot be
responsible. Then women have to take care of them
We also face problems to join Sangha. Some say there are boys in
the Sangha. You might get married to one of them.
We are not allowed to take part in meetings they say you are a
girls why should you go to big meetings.
How we have overcome some of our problems:
I have taken my mother’s help to come here
I was adamant and that is how I could come here.
My mother was adamant that I get an opportunity to learn.
Dowry problem has not been solved
Some girls have gained a position to some extent for example in
the Sangha.
We have found some solution because we fought for it. We also get
educated through our own work.
In houses where men don’t drink some problems do not exist
In house where both boys and girls work it is possible to go on
smoothly
When we wanted to go to the meeting some of my friends stopped me.
I still went ahead. When I came back I talk to my friends about all
that which took place at the meeting. Then they said what you did was
right.
Some people have wrong ideas about girls talking to boys. In our
Sangha we have no difference between boys and girls. In all our
struggles we work together. We have a lot of trust about each other.
We have been able to convenience our family about this. Without
getting organised or without information we would not have been able
to achieve this.
When a girl was asked to marry a drunk she left house and studied
on her own. She said I also have freedom. I am no less than a man. I
want to see the world and to know about what is happening in this
country. She had an opportunity to get trained in a good organisation
but most girls would not be able to face such problems.
| Any problem
is easier to face if we get organised |
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