Poor children more unaware of rights

Mysuru:  A child awareness jatha was held at the Government Girls Balamandira on the Lalitha Mahal Road in city yesterday as part of Children’s Day and the 75th year of independence where it was highlighted the fact that children and their living realities are rarely put on the radar of policy, media or political attention in our country.

Flagging off the rally, Second Additional District and Sessions Judge Hosmani Pundalik said that the Government should ensure food, education and accommodation of children from the economically weaker sections of society and uphold  their rights.

The event was organised by Directorate of Child Rights Protection, Bengaluru, Women and Child Development Department and District Legal Services Authority. “Children are not aware of their rights and those coming from the poorer sections tend to be exploited and hence are deprived of their rights. Poverty was forcing them to take up jobs after dropping out of schools,” the Judge said.

“To ensure the quality of life of the children, what we need is a predominantly non-profit regimen of social policies and public institutions, even when for-profit alternatives exist. Many public initiatives have to be undertaken to expand and improve nutritional and educational opportunities for all children and make them aware of their legal rights,”  he added.

Society in general should take up the responsibility of ensuring that no child is deprived of its legitimate facilities and rights. Due to lack of awareness on child rights and laws protecting them, atrocities on children are taking place in society, the  Judge noted.

He said that there is a dire need for sensitising people and also children on the rights of children and officials should conduct extensive sensitisation programmes through workshops and training programmes starting from the Gram Panchayat level. Various Government schemes have been implemented, programmes initiated and laws enacted for ensuring the overall personality development of children and to shape their career, he said.

Pointing out that officials too lacked proper knowledge on Child Marriage Prevention Act, RTE and Child Labour Prevention Act, Senior Civil Judge and Member-Secretary of District Legal Services Authority Devaraja Bhoothe said that this has indirectly helped anti-social elements in engaging children in hazardous jobs in factories. He emphasised the need for officials to update themselves and understand the nuances of the various laws that are enacted to protect children.

POSCO Special Court Judge Shyama Kamarosh, Fourth Additional District and Sessions Judge S.T. Devaraju, Seventh Additional District and Sessions Judge Yashwanth Kumar, Third Family Court Judge Gireesha Bhat, Fourth Family Court Judge Sudha Sethuram, Principal Civil Judge K. Vidya, Child Welfare Committee Member Dhananjaya, District Child Welfare Committe’s Child Protection Officer G.S. Abhikumar and  others were present.