Saturday, April 30, 2011

Why Women's Human Rights in India?

During my years at Davidson College, I have done a substantial amount of work focusing on human rights issues. I further narrowed my focus down to women's human rights violations and have studied multiple areas of the world. I found myself becoming more emotionally involved in the subject matter, and drew specific interest to issues found in India. Even coming to tears at some points, the general lack of respect for Indian women is indescribable and almost beyond my comprehension as I live in a world with the freedom to make my own decisions about my life and do not live in fear of the next day. Many of the women I read about, and searched for pictures of, were not too far from my age which really brings these issues into perspective.

I now, more than ever, believe that western exposure to these violations will force change upon the country. If more Indian human rights violations were immensely more apparent and regular in western news, I believe more individuals would begin to see the need for transformation within these societies. However, it’s not simply the responsibility of western governments to force change within the Indian government. The Indian government must find a way to bridge the gap between policy and implementation. Even if the government is to bring new policy changes to women’s human rights, it is the responsibility of local government officials and police officers in the various states of India to believe in these policy changes and enforce them in their community.

Though there is still much growth needed in Indian women human rights policy, we cannot discount the development and change that has already been made. NGOs and women’s groups are working together to educate women in India and give them the tools to regulate their own lives. There have been massive protests and demonstrations that show that Indian women are beginning to stand up for themselves and for later generations to come, refusing to be treated as property or below the rule of man. There have been government policy changes and organizations formed in response to media exposure and Indian women’s demands for basic rights, but there is always room for more. Moving in the right direction is the most important thing. As long as news coverage continues to report on human rights violations and bring awareness to these issues, the call for change is promising.

India is a place of conflict and controversy in the human rights realm. Women and children are in a constant battle against fundamentalist to be given basic human rights and the true life they deserve. Indian fundamentalist choose to believe in archaic ways of handling women, which puts them in a position faces with suffering and belittlement under the hand of men. Over the past couple of years, we have seen how groups such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Human Rights Watch (HRW), and various Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have attempted to amend and improve the lives of women and children in India. However, as these groups attempt to transform governmental actions and views towards women and children, the key to change is global recognition of the problem. As more countries and people become aware of the human rights issues present in India, the more pressure India will be put under to enforce change. The media is a strong tool for spreading news, and with more exposure of India’s gender and social rights issues in global media, the faster we will see change in India policy. Similarly, there is an apparent gap between government policy and initiatives and the accountability and resources available to enforce policy changes. There is still much needed change to be enforced in India, and despite media pressures that do invoke policy change, continuous enforcement of legislation is still scarce.

The purpose of this blog is to review the evidence on whether or not Indian women and children are being mistreated, whether change is occurring on their behalf. With the historical development of policy suggestions from organizations such as CEDAW, NHRC, HRW, and NGOs, I will look at how global media has changed and influenced opinions towards many issues such as child labor, domestic violence, rape, and marriage.

Honor Killings

For my final submission, I would like to bring light to what I consider one of India’s greatest issues. Though I have discussed a great deal about how the government lacks the resources and capabilities to uphold policy and regulations in many human rights venues, this final violation reflects just as greatly on the people of India, specifically, the men. Trying to address the government to implement policy for women will only go so far when problems still lay amongst the citizens of India. Honor killings are a pressing issue in India, and news reports of these occurrences are still surfacing with regularity. Honor killings are usual incidents of male family members killing their female relatives in the name of eliminating possible dishonor brought to their family. They consider such cases of dishonor to reside in women who for example, marry men not in their social class, or women who seek divorce from their husbands. If we cannot change the minds and ways of these Indian societies, then how do we expect the government to be able to control these human rights violations? In fact, it is not always only the men who support this act, a member of women’s human rights at Amnesty International said, “females in the family—mothers, mothers-in-law, sisters, and cousins—frequently support the attacks. It's a community mentality”[1]. Many men rather go to jail, than see dishonor brought to their family, so they continue to kill, despite government intervention.

It is difficult to say how many honor killings occur each year because many go un reported, but it is safe to say that it is most likely in the hundreds, if not thousands. In India, many have a mentality that women are seen in simple terms as reproductive organs, or male property. When these women venture out to have a life of their own, or follow their own intuitions, they are harshly punished. For example, BBC news reported a brutal killing of two teenage lovers, Asha and Yogesh. Yogesh belonged to a lower class than Asha, and for that, Asha’s father, uncle, their wives and her cousin, tied them both up one night, brutally beat them both for hours and then killed them. From the report, there were no signs of remorse from any of the family members, and they all seem to believe the right thing had been done to stop the dishonor Asha and Yogesh were allegedly bringing to their family name.[2] Because this young girl and boy choose to follow their hearts they were punished for it.

In the traditional ways of Indian culture, marriages were arranged in families, and women were matched with men in their same social classes. As modern day has made women more progressive in all societies, Indian women are becoming more exposed to education, which is bringing modern influences and aspirations into their lives. This brings conflict with members of society who still believe in the fundamental ways, and are using these beliefs to justify their killings. Human Rights Watch issued a report that blamed officials for condoning and in fact, endorsing murder by not holding accused members accountable for their actions. The list of honor killings in the report seems never ending as occurrences are happening regularly all over the country as police turn a blind eye to these human rights violations. Similarly, corrupt politicians have supported these murders as having “honored traditional values”. HRW is calling for the Indian government to “ensure that its police officials impartially investigate "honor" killings without bowing to political or other pressure from powerful local leaders”[3]. Legislative change can only come if all members of society are willing to work together and have a common belief of supporting basic rights of humanity. In similar regards to my opinions, the HRW report concluded that the Indian government should use public campaign and the media to promote the rights of individuals of legally marriageable ager to marry who ever they choose, without having to live in fear of violence, abuse, or death[4]. It is the government’s responsibility to implement change, as well as it is societies duty to accept this change.

As gruesome as this picture is, I wanted to show the barbarity of honor killings. As many protesters signs have read, “there is no honor in killing”. This picture shows the worst side of humanity, as this young Indian woman was killed in broad daylight, and left to be made a public spectacle of. Seeing this picture can only pull on the emotions of the viewers. It is a simple, yet strong photograph that shows how things can change in an instant for these young Indian women who are seeking a new modern way of life and love for themselves.

http://socialliaison.blogspot.com/2010/06/women-of-world-honor-killings.html

[1] Hillary Mayell, “Thousands of Women Killed for Family ‘Honor’,” National Geographic News, (February, 2002), http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0212_020212_honorkilling.html.

[2] Geeta Pandey, “Inidan Communtiy torn apart by ‘honour killings’,” BBCnews, (June, 2010), http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/10334529.

[3] “India: Prosecute Rampant ‘Honor’ Killings,” Human Rights Watch, (July, 2010), http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/07/16/india-prosecute-rampant-honor-killings.

[4] Ibid., http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/07/16/india-prosecute-rampant-honor-killings.

Maternal Health Care

During the past couple of years, it has come to the attention of many health groups, women’s NGOs, and human rights groups, that maternal health care for Indian women is drawing major human rights violations. Caste discrimination, gender discrimination, and a general lack of stability within the health care system and government have all been contributing factors to this occurrence. In 2009, Human Rights Watch released a report claiming that “tens of thousands of Indian women and girls are dying during pregnancy, in childbirth, and in the weeks after giving birth, despite government programs guaranteeing free obstetric health care”[1]. With more reports like this, the Indian government has seen the need for change in their system and have begun to hold hospitals more accountable for their actions and proper treatment, however, there have still been some shortcomings in potential health care programs.

During 2005, India created a flagship program called the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) that was aimed at improving rural health, and specifically focused on maternal health care. This program showed good intensions as it promised to provide free care before and during childbirth, more accessible emergency services, postnatal care, and better referral in case of complications. However, in the 2009 Human Rights Watch report, this program was deemed ineffective, as its promises were not being upheld.[2] According to the human rights watch, one of the gaps in this program was found in the failure to account for details on injuries and pregnancy complications, and whether or not these women were gaining access to emergency care[3].

Along with the inability of the government to implement programs that hold to their promises, we are seeing an occurrence of vast class discrimination in health care services to pregnant women. In 2007, a study was published on CBCnews that showed in six north Indian states, 61 percent of maternal deaths were among “untouchables,” and that many upper class health care workers refused to visit “untouchable” communities, withholding the necessary supplements that maternal women need[4]. Those women that are denied proper treatment in large, government hospitals are forced to turn to unsafe deliveries at home by untrained physicians or midwives, and many of these women die during child birth. In 2008, a story emerged about an untouchable couple who were seeking emergency care for the pregnant wife at a large hospital, they were bribed 500 Rs for admission, and not being able to pay this they were forced to give birth outside the hospital’s gates. The hospital later tried to cover up the occurrence.[5] These maternal health care issues are a relevant issue that must not be overlooked. “Globally half a million maternal deaths occur every year. South Asia and Africa are the regions where most of these deaths take place. India accounts for close to 100,000 such deaths. This means one woman is dying every five minutes in India”[6]. This is a scary fact that is crying out for government intervention.

Though the Human Rights Watch picked out some of the gaps in the NRHM program, this does not mean that it did not bring some help along the way. A local Indian organization that pairs with NGOs, called Save a Mother, pointed out some of the positives that were brought with NRHM. According the Save a Mother, the greatest success of NRHM has been a program called Janani Suraksha Yojana. This is a cash exchange program from the government that gives incentives for both mothers and health workers to enable pregnant women to seek health facilities to give birth and ensures them proper health treatment. “In just five years, the number of women who have benefited from the program’s incentives has increased 13-fold, from 750,000 in 2005-2006 to nearly 10 million in 2009-2010”[7]. This is a great step for the Indian government, proving that their initiatives can work, however, this is not yet a full success story. There is still a need for the program to help reduce infant mortality rates and address the needs post-partum mothers[8]. As we can see, the government is not completely ignoring these human rights issues, we just continue to see problems in the ability of the government to hold to their plans. This gap of implementation and accountability is the primary issue that needs to be addressed. If the Indian government is only following through with half of their promises, it is likely that people will begin to loose faith in their abilities.

The picture below was taken outside a hospital in Srinagar, India and posted on cbc.ca news. The pain and anxiety seen in the mothers face can be used to address all the emotions and scares of Indian mothers, wondering if they will face pregnancy complications and if both them and their baby will make it through the birth. As these wait in line outside of the hospital, who knows what sort of health issues these women posses and what they are further exposing themselves, and their babies, to outside in the filth of the streets. Similarly, it is disturbing to wonder which of these women will live through the next couple of months. With the high mother mortality rate, it is possibly that at least one of these women will face discrimination, or inadequate medical treatment, leading them to their death.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2009/10/07/maternal-deaths-india.html

[1] “India: Too Many women Dying in Childbirth,” Human Rights Watch, (October, 2009), http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/10/07/india-too-many-women-dying-childbirth.

[2] Ibid., http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/10/07/india-too-many-women-dying-childbirth

[3] Ibid., http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/10/07/india-too-many-women-dying-childbirth

[4] “Preventable Maternal Deaths Kill Thousands in Inida,” CBCnews: Health, (October, 2009), http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2009/10/07/maternal-deaths-india.html.

[5] Rajender Singh Negi, “Social exclusion rampant in India’s maternal healthcare,” One World South Asia, (Septmeber, 2008), http://southasia.oneworld.net/todaysheadlines/social-exclusion-rampant-in-india2019s-maternal-healthcare.

[6] Ibid., http://southasia.oneworld.net/todaysheadlines/social-exclusion-rampant-in-india2019s-maternal-healthcare.

[7] Katie Malizia, “New Report shows skilled healthcare activists critical to transforming maternal and child health in India,” Save A Mother, (February, 2011) http://www.saveamother.org/new-report-shows-skilled-healthcare-activists-critical-to-transforming-maternal-and-child-health-in-india/.

[8] Ibid., http://www.saveamother.org/new-report-shows-skilled-healthcare-activists-critical-to-transforming-maternal-and-child-health-in-india/.

Women in Kashmir

Kashmir is a region of great conflict. As Indian Hindus, and Pakistani Muslims, battle over the region of Kashmir, women and children are caught in the conflict of this brutal war. Occurrences of rape, mental and physically abuse, torture, and kidnappings are not uncommon in this area and we are seeing that despite increased exposure in media sources, the human rights violations are not coming to an end anytime soon. For the past 20 years, the fighting in Kashmir has cost the lives of over 47,000 people, not including the abuse that women and children face on a daily basis[1]. As women are caught in the brutal middle position of this conflict, they have been shown little mercy from authorities and political figures. Even those who try and stand up for their cause and bring change to human rights issues in Kashmir are not accepted. In 2004, Aasia Jeelani, Kashmir’s first woman human rights activist, gave her life for her cause. A taxi, carrying her and her colleagues, exploded after driving over a land mine in northern Kupwara[2]. Asia was fighting for the right to a voice. She had developed the first woman’s peace group in Kashmir and was brining to light the number of violent attacks against women.

Like Aasia’s death, there have been a countless number of other deaths covered up by officials. For example, in 2009 an article came out in the New York Times about a mother and sister who’s dead bodies were found lying in a shallow stream in between a high security zone located between army and state police camps. The bodies were reported to have been raped and murdered, but officials enforced a new autopsy report which came out saying that the women had died from drowning. In an uproar of anger, protestors shut the city down for days as they blamed the government for managing to belittle the crisis[3]. This anger over these killings shows that many local citizen of Kashmir acknowledge the issues and struggles at hand and are crying out for help. But where will this help come from? It is apparent that many local governments bypass the necessity for an increase on legislation for human rights issues, but we are also seeing that there has been a lack of pressure from the United States government under the Obama administration.

Local news organizations have recently been outlining the weak approach that Obama has reached out to the Indian and Pakistan governments with. An article in Time criticizes Obama for not following through with his initial spoken intensions. During his campaign, Obama “repeatedly said that ending Indo-Pakistani differences over Kashmir was one of the keys to calming tensions in south Asia and winning the war on terror,”[4] but where is this pressure now? During Obama’s most recent visit to India in late 2010, he made a dramatic diplomatic gesture in backing India for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, but refused to intervene directly with the tensions in Kashmir.[5] Offering to help, but not actually doing anything explicitly shows how Obama’s original promised goals have changed. Wanting to keep diplomatic relations stable, Obama is staying on the safe side of the fence and avoiding any direct help that could potentially bring these people, especially women, out of violence and oppression. Similarly an article in The Guardian exposed Obama’s over simplified view as an incidental part of the problem in Kashmir. Obama’s naïve offer to simply help mediate the problem if asked, is only adding to the terror occurring in Kashmir. Another accusation of the Guardian article focuses on the fact that Obama is continuing to support Pakistan’s military with economic aid and that “unless Washington and New Delhi show themselves capable, as the world's two largest democracies, of acknowledging their respective failures in achieving their strategic interests in Pakistan, then they are each in the situation of enabling the other's delusion.”[6]

I agree with these news articles and believe that the government’s mistakes can not be overlooked. The most direct way to increase support and see changes is to get government policies on board with important issues. Through NGO’s and women’s support groups in Kashmir, the fight for equality is attempting to break the surface, but without strong support from democratic governments, the pressure for change will never come.

In the picture below, we see a sea of masked women standing up for their beliefs and rights. “Murder of women, murder of humanity” as said in the center woman’s poster is the overlying principle that these women are fighting for. Women in Kashmir are seeking basic human rights, ones that call for basic humanity from their husbands, peers, and government. By bringing the issue of killing women to a crime against humanity, these women are making a strong statement to their government and the world, forcing their cause to be recognized. The more these women stand up for themselves, and break the silence between the human rights violations and the government, I believe we will begin to see change.

http://www.indianmuslimobserver.com/2011/03/women-speak-in-kashmir-call-for-end-to.html

[1]           "Women in Kashmir." Peace Direct: Supporting Local Actin Against Conflict. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. <http://www.peacedirect.org/justonewoman/women-kashmir/>.

[2]           Motta, Showkat A. "Women in Kashmir Suffer Silently." One World South Asia. 6 Apr. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. <http://southasia.oneworld.net/todaysheadlines/women-in-kashmir-suffer-silently>.

[3]           Roy, Arundhati. "Kashmirs Fruits of Discord." New York Times. 8 Nov. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/opinion/09roy.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1>.

[4]           Bobb Ghosh, “Will Kashmir be an Obama Foreign Policy Focus?” Time, 28, Jan. 2009. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1874627,00.html

[5] “Obama backs India for U.N. Security Council Seat.” MSNBC, 8, Nov. 2010. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40065426/ns/politics-white_house/

[6]           Vishai Arora, “Kashmir a symptom, America part of the problem.” The Guardian. 9, Nov. 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/nov/09/india-barack-obama

Women Against Terrorism

Yesterday, March 7, 2011 I attended a guest speaker who discussed her participation with an international NGO called Women Without Borders. She talked about their work on helping bring together a recent dialogue involving Indian and Pakistan women’s ability to change terrorism. The program they had developed is called SAVE (Sisters Against Violent Extremism), which strives to encourage women in India and Pakistan to challenge against extreme ideologies to prevent terrorism. These mothers, grandmothers, sisters and wives are the most direct way of preventing terrorist attacks, which occur by the hands of their own male relatives and friends. By bringing these women from different countries and religions together in a peaceful way, they are proving that change can be brought about by words, not physical force. Teaching them how to raise their children away from violence will help prevent future terrorist groups from being formed. SAVE wants these women to understand “the other” and impact life immediately on the ground level rather than waiting for government actions to slowly trickle down the line.
            Terrorist in India occupy a special space between the military and the police. The military can not always respond to all threats, and the police don’t have to power or ability to handle terrorist attacks, therefore with this, combined with a lack of communication and coordination between these two forces, terrorist groups are able to sneak through the cracks in devastating ways. For example, in 2008, an Islamic terrorist group led an attack on the city of Mumbai. At one point they moved north to launch an attack on one of the lead police stations. This slowed the police response and disrupted the central control node. The terrorist group was also able to kill the chief of Mumbai’s anti-terrorism squad and two offer senior officers, damaging any sort of response of counter force[1].
            I believe what SAVE is doing has the potential to make great impact on the lives of Indian and Pakistan women, however, my concerns from the presentation rested on the fact that many of the women who were participating in these dialogues were very highly educated and higher socially ranked than most. As long as these women are passing along the message to other women in their communities that they play a vital role in helping prevent terrorism then this could work. As was explained in the presentation, through storytelling, workshops, confidence building swimming training and income generation programs, SAVE has been supporting the families of police officers effected during the attacks in 2008.
            Also discussed was the ability to be able to tell whether or not the program was becoming successful or not. Because there is no quantitative way to determine how many people are being reached out to and able to stop terrorist attacks, they simply rely on the trust in the se Pakistan and India women to get their message across. However, SAVE is hard at work to promote their project and cause. On their website they have clips from documentaries, and personal reflections of those effected by the attacks. Having this first hand account of what these people are going through is the best way for those not directly affiliated with the cause to make a connection to these people. Seeing the suffering and pain of those who lost loved ones, touches people on a personal level, bringing them into the fight.
            The picture below is an unnerving picture taken from the SAVE website. From this view, it looks as if the viewer is standing in the shooters shoes. Having those innocent people in the restaurant staring at you is a very powerful image. This photograph throws the viewer directly into the violence of the Mumbai 2008 attacks and gives them a perspective unlike any other. The photographer of this picture did a good job of making the violence seem real and relevant to the viewer. The restaurant in picture was one of the target areas of the 2008 attacks, and even if you are thousands of miles away looking at this picture, it truly brings you right into the action.

http://www.women-without-borders.org/save/news/5/

[1] Bill Roggio. "Analysis: Mumbai Attack Differs from past Terror Strikes." The Long War Journal. 28 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. <http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/11/analysis_mumbai_atta.php>.

Human Trafficking

In 1998, it was reported that in India, along with Thailand and the Philippines, there were 1.3 million children in sex trade centers. The local trend was for these children, from poor families, were being trafficked into wealthy families. One of the most depressing facts of human trafficking in India is that these young girls are “sold by their ignorant, poor parents or hoodwinked into fraudulent marriages or promised employment in towns, these vulnerable, unsuspecting girls are lured out of their remote hilly homes and deprived lives, only to find themselves in Hindustan's depressingly dingy brothels”[1]. This astonishing finding, that parents are actually selling their daughters into this life, is appalling.

Not only is human trafficking cruel, and deprives women and young girls of a life of their own, it also severely risks their health. In 1996, it was reported that more than half of Mumbai’s 100,000 prostitutes are HIV positive[2]. With this being such a large portion of the population, and something that is continuously growing as increasingly more people are being infected as the prostitution level and activity remains high, it is surprising to find information claiming that the government is not willing to help these women. One magazine published that with the high numbers of HIV and AID infected individuals, a corrupt official believed that it will help decrease the vastly over populated underclass[3]. Similarly, there have been cases where government hospitals have refused to treat prostitutes who are HIV positive or infected with AIDS[4]. These corrupt individuals are clearly defying any sort of basic human rights norms by refusing medical treatment to those in needs. It is difficult to specifically define what basic human rights includes, however, I believe that the right to food, water, shelter and health should be included in human rights. If someone is suffering, and requires medical attention, they should not be turned away due to personal discriminations against a certain class. These women in India who are battling for their lives in a dangerous lifestyle forced upon them, require help and assistance from the government. By not helping, the government is, allowing this behavior to continue.

Sex trade is growing in India, and it is beginning to become very popular to pedophiles all over the world, and especially the United States and Europe. With this issue expanding into a global issue, the Indian government needs to understand the consequences of their actions, or lack there of. Pedophilic men who seek cheap sex, and specifically sex from underage girls, are being drawn to India because of the relaxed laws and abundant child prostitutes[5]. This is increasing the spread of AIDS and HIV all over the world, and making the sex trade in India more powerful because of the money these tourist bring with them and are willing to spend. This is quickly moving from a local issue to a global issue that will effect the lives of many innocent people.

Every year, between 5,000 and 7,000 Nepalese girls, as young as 9 years old, are trafficked over the border into Indian cities[6]. How can a government sit around and ignore such an obvious violation of human rights taking place? This is not a big secret that these abductors are buying and selling young women into a life of filth and sex, subjugating them even further to the hands of men. As Wadhwa points out, trafficking women into India from Nepal is an easy job due to the fact the border patrol are easily paid off by the pimps. As India is growing to be one of the most powerful economic societies in our world, I believe they need to take a step back and look at the troubling development of human trafficking that is still going on in their country. As they strive to pass up China economically, India’s government needs to start from the bottom up in order to gain respect and trust from other countries. Also, the United States needs to see this corruptness that is going on in India rather than turning a blind eye and continuing to trade and do business with India. Only until outside, powerful pressures, such as media and governmental policies from influencing countries, are put on India to control their country and the corruptness within will we begin to see change being made.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I believe the picture below only requires three. The words on this picture, “not for sale”, are not only seen in print, but can also be read in the eyes of the little girl portrayed in the picture. The upward, for longing gaze of the young child, resonates in every viewer’s hearts and minds. Imagining children as young as this being bought and sold into slavery and sexual abuse is gut wrenching. Pictures like this truly put into perspective the atrocity occurring in India.

http://skirtingthelimits.wordpress.com/2010/10/12/organization-profile-afesip-cambodia-acting-for-women-in-distressing-situations/

[1] Soma Wadhwa. "For Sale: Childhood." Outlook India. 23 Feb. 1998. Web. 29 Oct. 2010. <http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?205123>.

[2] Robert I. Freidman, "India’s Shame: Sexual Slavery and Political Corruption Are Leading to An AIDS Catastrophe," The Nation, 8 April 1996. <http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/reserve/crj420/s420_22.html> [3] Ibid, 1. [4] Robert I. Freidman,. "India’s Shame: Sexual Slavery and Political Corruption Are Leading to An AIDS Catastrophe," The Nation, 8 April 1996. <http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/reserve/crj420/s420_22.html>

[5] Rahul Bedi."Bid To Protect Children As Sex Tourism Spreads," 1997 http://www.catwinternational.org/factbook/india.php [6] Soma Wadhwa,. "For Sale: Childhood." Outlook India. 23 Feb. 1998. Web. 29 Oct. 2010. <http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?205123>.

Child Labor

Child labor rights have begun to be a primary source of concern in India. Since 2007 when the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights was set up to protect, promote, and defend child rights in India, it formed its main goal to enforce that India uphold its constitutional statement in article 23 that “traffic in human beings, begging and other similar forms of forced labor are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law” (NCPCR). The NCPCR developed the belief that child labor in India was a violation of basic human rights of children and a drastically increasing problem from the 1980s through the late 1990s. Working children, ages 0 – 18, were denied the right to development, education, play, and an adequate standard of living. Though there were governmental attempts to address child labor laws, little was done to enforce or regulate these laws as was evident by the census in 2001 that showed an increase of one million, which resulted in roughly 12 million children being subjected to child labor[1]. Recently, there has been an increase of media attention on the NCPCR which has brought a lot of attention to their cause. In October 2007, The New York Times ran an article that described the alternate side to India that is “off the beaten path” of the typical American tourist. Behind the façade of the magnificent Taj Mahal, there are buildings upon buildings with kids as young as nine years old, who can be seen through the windows, slaving away at elaborate designs on high end fabric for India’s wealthy. The article continues to describe the horrible conditions these children are living and working in and the clear violation of human rights that are present. A representative from the NCPCR, Shantha Sinha is quoted stating that "there is not enough outrage in society that these children are working and not at school. This will come only when the government begins to take serious action."[2] A couple of weeks later, The Observer came out with a report that Indian children were found making clothing designed for Gap Kids that was to be sold on American and British shelves for the upcoming Christmas holiday. The article describes the textile factory conditions that these children are being forced to work in, and criticizes the Gap for outsourcing large contracts to developing countries such as India and not taking into to consideration how their clothing is being made. After a social audit, Gap found that forced child labor, wages below minimum wage, and physical punishment were all taking place in their factories and quickly terminated contracts with these suppliers[3]. Articles such as these were a wakeup call for India’s government in 2007. It is apparent that with the development of the NCPCR and global media attention being focused on India’s child labor issues, India’s government must turn their focus onto the enforcement of child labor laws.

The 1950 Constitution of India states “no child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment”[4]. Then in 2009, an act was instated under the name of The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, which called for free education to all children 6 to 14 years and that 25% of seats in every private school must be reserved for disadvantaged children.[5] From pressures in the media the government saw a need for change and acted upon it. The more that the world sees that child labor laws are not being upheld in India, the more the government will be pressured to enforce and come up with new legislation for children rights. This was a positive step in the right direction for the Indian government. They responded directly to pressures from the media on an issue that brought about global concern for the future on India’s children and made a change for the better.

However, the battle is not over yet. Below is a picture taken at the 2010 Commonwealth games in Delhi, India. There were multiple reports of children as young as 3 years old, working on building the stadiums for the event. With over 70 dead from the rushed construction work at the commonwealth games, this was no place for children to be forced into labor. In fact, a human rights investigator for the UN said that Delhi should call off the games because of the widespread displacement and violations of child labor laws[6].

http://www.newsmild.com/child-labor-reported-at-commonwealth-games/update-news.html

[1] NCPCR. Magnitude of Child Labour in India: An Analysis of Official Sources of Data (Draft). http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:dcf4naIW8dIJ:ncpcr.gov.in/Reports/Magnitude_of_Child_Labour_in_India_An_Analysis_of_Official_Sources_of_Data_Draft.pdf+NCPCR+reports+child+labor&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESice-GGqEhbPRal68E_YTsw6Cd8NPV2xi96cMWM7XQxGmi3matb3AuUipst3Pb9r6H34HjMeM8SF9bVIkdabIp_6qphaDUXn5yEcBpcpgQARZETKnnvBPD4mJbuJSQy1uEI8zKt&sig=AHIEtbSfIxxgK70FPAYNhWcEEp6I6YYIpQ. 1- 36.

[2] Amelia Gentleman, “Letter from India: A dismal side of India, where child labor persists,” The New York Time, October 10, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/world/asia/10iht-letter.1.7832563.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=National%20Commission%20for%20Protection%20of%20Child%20Rights%20&st=cse.

[3] Dan McDougall, “Indian ‘slave’ children found making low-cost clothes destined for Gap,” The Observer, October 28, 2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/oct/28/ethicalbusiness.retail.

[4] “National Legislation and Policies Against Child Labour in India,” International Labour Organization. September 16, 2009, http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/regions/asro/newdelhi/ipec/responses/india/national.htm

[5] “National Legislation and Policies Against Child Labour in India,” International Labour Organization. September 16, 2009, http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/regions/asro/newdelhi/ipec/responses/india/national.htm

[6] “Child labor reported at Commonwealth games,” News Mild, September 24, 2010, http://www.newsmild.com/child-labor-reported-at-commonwealth-games