MEDIA AND THE GIRL CHILD STRATEGIES TO EFFECT CHANGE A REPORT
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MEDIA AND THE GIRL CHILD
Strategies to Effect Change
A REPORT
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CONTENTS
Page No.
1 .
I ntroduction
1
2.
Objectives of the Workshop
2
3.
Structure of
Workshop
2
4.
Programme
3
5.
Workshop Proceedings
4
6.
Recommendations
10
Annexures
11.
Girl Child - Survival and Health
Dr Shirdi Prasad Tekur
12
2.
Education of the Girl Child
Dr Malathi Somaiah
3t
Work and the Girl Child
Ms Nomita^Chandy
18
4.
Introductions to Resource Persons
21
5.
List of Participants
23
6.
Background material given
at the Workshop
26
16
INTRODUCTION
«•
— —• • »
the female child in India has been matter
The situation of
*
of acute concern in recent times.
While the majority of our
children are■condemned to a miserable existence because of poverty
girls face certain special problems and
and attendent ills,
dangers because of the general devaluation of the female gend.er
by society.
UNICEF and other national and international organisations
concerned about women and children have been drawing attention
to the tragedy of the girl child for a long time.
The govern -
ments of South .'Asian countries officially acknowledged the
seriousness of the problem last year .‘.when they declared 1990
as the 5AARC Year of the Girl Child.
In this context,
the Indian
government has been exploring ways of highlighting and tackling
this important issue.
Everyone agrees that only a change in social attitudes will
lead to an amelioration of the situation of girls.
It is also
accepted that the media have the potential to be powerful agents
of social change by effectively creating public opinion in
favour of progress.
It is crucial,
therefore, for the personnel attached to
the government media - particularly radio and television, which
have the greatest roach across the length and breadth of the
country - to fully comprehend the gravity of the problem as well
as to be totally familiar with its various aspects.
It is hoped that with a more thorough understanding of the
situation of the girl child they will be able to use their tech
nical know-how to create programmes which will be more valuable
tools in the work towards social change and a better deal for
female children.
In this context,
the Department of Women & Children’s
'Welfare, Government of Karnataka,
supported by UNICEF,
put forward
the idea of holding a workshop for media-persons on issues con
cerning the girl child.
in December 1990.
This workshop was held in Bangalore
OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP
*
To sensitise government and other media personnel to the
situation of the girl child by making available an infor
mation base •
*
To encourage inter-r and intra-media critiques of current
media content with reference to the girl child
*
To generate ideas for radio and television programmes,
press and other media features which can address the
problems in an informative as well as creative and,
therefore, effective way.
STRUCTURE OF THE WORKSHOP
The workshop was structured to allow maximum interaction
between resource persons and participants in the morning session,
to facilitate a thorough analysis of the various issues concern
ing the girl child.
The afternoon session was devoted to pre
senting samples of All India Radio as well as Doordarshan pro
grammes on the subject, which were followed by discussion.
deliberations of this workshop form the body of this report.
2
The
MADHYAM
'W'oxkshop on Media and the Girl Child : Strategies to 'Effect Change
December 20,
9.15 a.m to 5,15 p.m.
1990
Programme
Morning session
Welcome :
.Ms Sucharita S Eashwar, Executive Director, Madhyam
Inauguration : Mrs Meera Saksena, Director, Dept of Women &.
Children’s Welfare, Karnataka
The Girl Child - Survival and Health
-
Dr Shirdi Prasad Tckur
Community Health Cell
The Girl Child end Education
-
Dr Malathi Somiah
Indian Institute of
Management, Bangalore
The Girl Child and Work
-
M»s Nomita Chandy
Ash raya
,
Discussion
Coffee
’’Media as agent of social change - Potential and Limitations”
Ms Sakuntala Narasimhan
Journalist
Discussion
Moderator : Mrs Meera Saksena, Director, Dept of Women & Children’s
Welfare, Karnataka
Post-Lunch session
•
Presentation on AIR’s programmes on the Girl Child : Mr Chandramouli
AIR,Bangalore
Discussion
Presentation on DD’s programmes on the Girl Child :
- Ms Jai Chandiram, Director,
Central Production Centre
- Ms Nalini Ramanna, Producer,
Bangalore Doordarshan Kendra.
Discussion
Viewer Reponse and Adaptation of Alternative Media Forms into
Mainstream Media
Prof M S Nagaraj, Media Critic
Discussion on action strategies
Summing up -Ms Deenaz
*
Moderator
-Ms Deenaz
Damania
-Damania, Child Counsellor and Activist.
******* **** **** ***
,***********
3
WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS
Inauguration
In her inaugural address, Ms Meera Saksena, Director,.Dep-
artment of Women &. Children’s Welfare,Govt of Karnataka,
pointed
out the pathetic situation of the girl child saying that nutri
tion, sanitation, safe drinking water and education,
some of
the basic necessities of life have not reached her.
There is a
felt need among the rural as well as urban poor for such basic
inputs, which they feel will go a long way in improving living
conditions.
Ms Saksena also traced the low status of the girl child to
negative, derogatory images of women in the media,
especially
Indian cinema, which reflect the negative attitudes towards
girls right from birth.
According to her, several government programmes are specia-
ally designed to benefit the girl child.
Some of the projects
to be undertaken during the Eighth Five Year Plan period are
ths provision of better creche facilities,
schools and polytech-
nics exclusively for girls; and brodening ofjICDS scheme so
as to include adolescent children, who are now recognised to
be a very vulnerable segment of the population.
However, she.
said, not enough investment or thought has been given to pro
grammes, especially in the rural areas.
Quoting the instance
of .the efforts of the Department of Health in Periyar District,
Tamil Nadu, to motivate people to improve sanitation facili
ties, Ms Saksena noted that motivation of the population is
necessary for effective programme delivery.
The media can play a vital role in creating public aware
ness about the situation of the girl child, she said, Media
interaction with socially conscious groups as well as profess
ionals like academicians, doctors, writers and so on would help
generate useful resource material on the girl child, she added.
In conclusion, Ms Saksena pointed out that there was no
cause to despair about the situation of the girl child; rather,
there is greater hope of a better future for her now that there
is official recognition of her plight, as scan in the declartion
of 1990 as the Year of the Girl Child, and genuine efforts are
being made to ensure a better future for the girl child.
|the
PAPERS PRESENTED
The Girl Child
- Survival and Health
::
Dr Shirdi Prasad Tekur
Community Health Cell
Bangalore
Education and^the Girl Child
:
Dr Malathi Somiah
Faculty Member
Indian Institute of
Management,
Bangalore
Work and tho Girl Child
::
Ms Nomita Chandy
Ash raya
Bangalore
These papers are appended to this report.
5
POINTS RAISED IN DISCUSSION
- Legislation can be successfully implemented only when there is
cooperation from the target population,
and this can be achieved
by creating awareness about these laws among the population.
- It is equally important to follow up legislation and other pro
grammes regularly.
- The situation of destitute children,
14 million of them are .totally
is alarming; of these children,
destitute,
numbering almost 38 million,
being orphans without any shelter or institutional care.
Nearly 50 per cent of such children are girls.
However,
this
problem has not been tackled so far and needsto be looked into.
- Sex-determination and pre-selection are increasingly being
practised because the qirl child is unwanted even before birth.
/'’to
•
- . ■ ..
There have been moves/ban these practices in Karnatka (following
example of Maharastra); but it is more relevant to ensure self
discipline on the part of doctors.
- Another problem which undermines the status of the girl child
is the question of dowry,
heavy price.
for which she and her family pay a
It would be useful to ensure that the dowry remains
with the girl and is not appropriated by her husband’s family.
- One way to overcome these problems would be to create attitudi
nal changes in the family and in the woman so as to enable them
to accept & girl child as no less than a boy.
- Other alternatives to enhance the girl child’s status would
be to ensure skill formation and upgradation and training in
remunerative employment, which would give them greater chances
for employment.
6
MEDIA AS AGENT OF SOCIAL CHANGE - POTENTIAL & LIMITATIONS
Ms Sakuntala Narasimhan
Ms Sakuntala Narasimhan spoke about her experiences as a
member of the panel screening programmes submitted to Doordarshan,
especially for the afternoon- transmission, which targets a female
audience.
She gave several examples'which revealed the diffi
culties of attempting to analyse such programmes from the women’s
perspective when so many of them arc based on outdated stereotypes
about women.
She particularly pointed cut the culpability of
producers of so-called humour programmes, whose stock-in-trade
seems to be the assumed stupidity, incredulity and frailty of
women.
She also referred to'the ef fective way in which ’Tam.asha’
a new magazine for children manages to sublly convey positive
images of girls and women’s role in sccietv,
PRESENTATION ON AIR’s PROGRAMMES GN THE CTRL CHILD
Mr Chandramouli played back some of the programmes produced
by Akashvani on the girl child and described the audience
response to these.
PRESENTATION ON DOORDARSHAN PROGRAMMES ON THE GIRL CHILD
This session comprised a lively interaction among partici
pants.
Ms Jai Chandiram presented □ video recording of tele
vision advertisements and features which show women and girls
as weak, dominated by men, dependant and always ready to please
males by looking glamorous and keeping a perfect house for them.
Hen, on the other hand, are portrayed as dominant, clever,
aggressive, adventurous and,
above all, the providers.
7 ■
According to Ms Chandiram, tho media create a reality which is
male-oriented and moralising.
Viewers unconsciously absorb these
images and aspire to live up to them.
possible in most instances,
However, since this is not
a sense o-f frustration and hopless-
ness develop among women.
The images of girl children and'wome'n,
already poor, are
further reinforced by these negative images which constantly
■
appear in the media, said Ms Chandiram.
It emerged from the discussions that the way out of this
situation is to look, for. ways to encourage the girl' child in
all fields.
Doordarshan progremmes should reflect girls as
active participants in all spheres of activity.
According to participants, Doordarshan programmes would be
more effective if they were made keeping in mind the regional
diversity in the country - for example, in language, customs
and traditions.
Ms Nalini Ramanna presented some clippings of programmes
She began on a positive note,
made by Bangalore Doordarshan.
stating that television is a powerful medium of communication,
and could play a very constructive role in social development
by motivating people to avail of the benefits of development,
as well as by encouraging’ self-help rather than dependances .on
outside agencies (like the government) for progrQQ3.
One clip on the problems faced by a girl throughout her
life was judged by participants to be rather negative and
They felt it could have a disturbing impact on girls
defeatist.
who might be in a similar situation because it didn’t show any
way out.
It was felt that such television dramas would be much
more powerful if they reflected a positive approach.
One
concre ‘te suggestion was that information on where women in
distress could seek help could be provided at the end of such
programmes.
B
'
:
ADAPTATION OF ALTERNATIVE MEDIA FORMS INTO MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Prof M S Nagaraj
Prof M S Nagaraj began by observing that often the objective
of a programme did not always get reflected in the programme
itself.
♦
Bringing up the issue of popular epics like the Ramayan
rnd Mahabharat, he noted that they had been adapted into various
media forms.
They had several women chareters, who were generally
portrayed as subservient to men, never as women in their own right.
He suggested that Doordarshan features should go beyond
merely projecting literary works - they should convey something
more positive and convincing.
It would be useful, for example,
to produce programmes re-interpret
.ing
*
old ideas and stories.
The crude and simplistic way in which women and girls have been
portrayed in Doordarshan programmes till now have to be subs
tituted with a more realistic approach.
Theatre, too, is a powerful medium,
said Prof Nagaraj,
and its traditional forms are very popular with the masses,
particularly in the rur-al areas.
However,
one can only expect
a gradual change in people1s 'thinking about and attitudes, to
wards the girl child. Changes in her status can only be brought
a
about through/sustained effort by the media, repeatedly expos
ing people to new ideas and taking up this issue as a campaign
to improve the status of the girl child.
9
RECOMMENDATIONS MADE AT THE WORKSHOP
following the day’s discussions, the participants outlined
a plan of action, which was summed up by Ms Deanaz Damania as
follows : The strategies suggested are relevant to various
media forms in portraying issues related to the girl child
and particularly to radio and TV programmes.
* Increase in the time allocated for children when programmes
concerning the girl child could be included.
* Participation of conscious and knowledgeable women nominated
by women’s groups in the panel for selection of scripts and
programmes.
* Some of the spots and programmes telecast on the national
network have far-reaching messages..
To enable them have a
better impact, local and regional culture specific adaptations
could be made of such material..
* Greater use of traditional forms of communication, such as
folk music, dance and street plays, could be adapted for
Doordarshan programmes.
* Programmes on children should also focus on the situation of
the adolescent girl, especially since there is growing con
sensus that this is a particularly crucial stage in the girl
child’s physical and mental growth.
* Messages conveyed by Doordarshan programmes should not be
over-simplistic, idealistic and moralising,
practical and oriented to reality.
but should be
It should serve as an
eye-opener, making viewers question and analyse the messages.
* Programmes should be strongly oriented towards bringing about
change in attitudes.
Superstitious attitudes and irrational
beliefs and practices should be exposed,
as these are at the
root of the plight of girl children today.
* Audiences research data should be made public,
programmes can be planned accordingly.
10
so that
The potential and power of the media have not been adequantely
tapped so far,
Much more can be achieved, especially through
boordarshan and Akashwani, which have tremendous reach even to
audiences in remote areas.
With a view to portraying the girl child in a proper per
spective by botordarshan it has been suggested that ;
*
positive images of girls must be portrayed in films for
children
*
song and donee sequences found objectionable because they
stereotype girls/women as doormats or sex objects, should
be eliminated
*
the presentation of success stories/role models should be
carefully done highlighting collective action so that it
becomes clear that it is not a one-in-a million case, but
an achievable target for ordinary girls
*
short plays/serials on emotive issues like dowry problems,
etc,
must be accompanied by information on where help is
available to victims.
*
the ’sick’ sense of humour which often denigrates women
needs to be eliminated^
*
idealize
advertisements and programmes which/certain roles that
women are expected to perform , resulting in inappropri
ate aspirations, must be suitably altered
*
work of the girl child needs to be publicized, so that her
contribution to the family income and the national economy
is made visible, and her value in society enhanced
*
Mainline cinema, advertisements, etc. present stereotyped
role models of women and children as subservient, helpless
and ’dumb1, these images need to be changed.
11
GIRL CHILD - SURVIVAL AND HEALTH
Dr Shirdi Prasad Tekur
Introduction:
There are a number of factors not commonly thought of as contribut
ing to health or illness which affect our survival.
It is increas
ingly being recognised that our health is affected by the. circum
stances of our lives; environmental and living conditions, resources
and life-styles as well as political and socio-economic realities.
Customs, attitudes and cultural traditions all affect health, and
in the case of women and girl children, the effect is often negative.
Women live longer than men and outnumber them at all ages,
given equal care and environmental conditions.
This is because
nature endows females with endogemoys factors which make them more
resilient and resistant to health hazards compared to males.
In
hostile physical and social environs there is a narrowing or
reversal of this female to male differential.
The adverse gender
ratio of 933 females to 1000 males (1981 census) in India speaks
for itself.
Increased risks of morbidity and mortality are reflec
ted in the lower life expectancy and age-specific-dealth-rates
(especially in the reproductive age group) in females.
Facts and figures:
Children constitute 40% of the population.
Almost half of them are girls.
a) At birth:
Gender differentiated data on children are inadequate,
but'with few exceptions, the disadvantages suffered by girls
suggest that they are unwelcome at birth.
With recent advances
in determining the sex of a foetus, this bias even precedes birth!
A study in Bombay on Amniocentesis tests revealed that in 7999
out of 8000 cases, the foetus aborted after such tests were
those of female children.
Female infanticide in Rajasthan and
Tamil Nadu is a well reported phenomenon.
b) Infancy:
There is no significant difference between boys and
girls at birth.
One third of all children in our country have
a low-birth-weight (less than 2500 gms) which affects their
chances of survival.
Later, girls have inferior nutrition and
health care compared to their brothers.
In normal healthy children, the physical growth curve of females
lags behind that of males, except between 10 to 12 years when
their growth is faster due to the adolescent spurt.
In India
however, these normal differences arc considerably exaggerated,
pointing to a higher level of malnutrition among females.
Safdsrjung Hospital, New Delhi recorded more male children in
the out-patient department, though among them case of malnutri
tion show e female child preponderance (46% males as against
54% females malnourished).
12
c) .tOH first 5 years; Half the total number of healths in the country
occur in children below five years of age. ’
The under 5 mortality rate (U5MR0 is the best available single
indicator of social development overall, as most of the factors
which it distils arc as indicative of meeting essential needs. of
all human beings a5 they are of the particular well. being of
children.
Only 84.8% of Indian children survive to the age of
five years.
The major killers are Diarrhoea, Respiratory infect
ions, Measles and nco-netal tetanus.
Vaccines are now available
for six major diseases in children, while oral rchydration is a
simple technique to prevent dpalths due to diarrhoea.
A great
majority of these deaths can .* now be prevented at low cost.
Data from the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau show that in
children, calorie and protein inadequacy was mostly in the younger
age group.
In 1982, of the ten states monitored, Kerala showed
the highest percentage of normal nutrition - that was 31.8% •
The manifestation of serious deficiencies in various micro-nutrientr
like vitamin A, Iron, Iodine and possibly others are recognised as
so widespread, as to limit efficacy of health and nutrition inter
ventions in other directions.
Each year, about 40,000 children
go blind due to vitamin ’A1 defidiency.
National Institute of
Nutrition (N.I.N) studies show that 65% of India- s children 'below
3 years and 45% between 3 to 5 years, suffer from anaemia.
The
seriousness of Iodine deficiency disorders is unfolding only
recently.
d) the absent childhood:
r,
, . n ,,
,
. ,
. . , ,
-------------- ------------------------- F rom early childhood, girl children assume
increasing responsibilities for the household in the areas of
water and fuel collection, sibling case, cooking and
*
cleaning
and they are expected to help their mothers in agricultural or
informal sector activities.
This is at the expense of their
education .
India has an estimated 100 million child workers - the official
figure is only 20 million - of whom 80% are on farms.
The work
is often hazardous; tuberculosis, burns, work-related injuries,
skin ailments and oven beatings by employers are common. Says
Swami Agnivesh: “Child labour flourishes even though there is a
high level of adult unemployment, because it is the cheapest
labour available.11
The Child-in-noed I nstitute '(CINI ) has been
generating awareness on the Girl Child in 24 Paragonas, West
Bengal.
In their study, they ipoVnd78% girls working as against
45% boys, and work involving carrying of heavy loads like collect
ing firewood or fetching water was done by girls:
They study
brings home the fact that the.life of a girl in India is built.
around the home and marriage.
Even education is advocated only
for ’better1 grooms.
Her life is divided into two parts - before
marriage end after marriage.
Till she is married, she is trained
for marriage, looking after her younger siblings, fetching water
*
gathering firewood, helping her mother with household chores and
managing the household single-handed if mother is not around.
None of the findings presented say anything ’new’ - it serves
to emphasize the fact that the girl child has an absent childhood.
13
Adolescence:
At adolescence, girl children face early marriage
snc! are locked into lives of hard work and risky '.child-bearingChildren born to women under 18 are twice as likely to die in
infancy as children born to women in their twenties.
The risks to
the health of both mother and infant increase steeply after the
third child.
Factors for survivals
The 5AARC conference on children recognised that one of the first
requirements for ensuring child survival, growth and development was
the availability of adequate quantities of safe drinking water and
a clean environment.
Other life support needs identified were food,
fuel and shelter with all interrelations with and implications for
the environment.
Another crucial factor for child survival and development is - a
well informed mother.
The low infant mortality in Kerala is attri
buted to the high literacy rate of women in the 15 to 45 years age
group.
Maternal awareness level has got a statistically significant
inverse relationship to the infant mortality rate.
As for women’s access to health services, the very nature and
structure of health services systems militates against reaching
women.
Women have neither the time, mobility, resources or child
core facilities to travel long distances to seek medical aid.
And,
sne cannot travel alone!
The mother1.a 'access to health services
has a direct implication for child health and survival.
The need
:
An. improvement in the mother-child life cycle should begin with
the girl child.
A focus for enriching this is the pre-adolescent
girl.
She should be enabled to avail of learning opportunities,
specially for the development of a self-image. Her burden of child
care and domestic work should be reduced by providing supportive
services and facilities.
It is important that special education
programs are directed to tho girl child to include not only health
and nutrition education but also vocational training.
This can
prove to be of immense help in equipping them for the future and
will also improv^ their economic status and decision-making role
in the family.
Jawaharlal Nehru said ”We talk of' revolution political and
economic and yet the greatest revolution in a country is one that
affects the status and living conditions of its women”.
This revolution can take place if we
i) ensure that programme interventions include not only
infants, but young children under age five, girls,
adolescents Qnd women of all ages, regardless of
maternal status;
14
v
ii) enable approaches at the grass-root levels which help
women define their problems and become directly involved
in the planning, implementation and evaluation of
processes directed towards them, and
iii) see that, in the longer term the.re is no need to treat
women as a separate' target group in the development process.
To quote Rgvindranath TQgore in the end,
"EVERY TIME A CHILD IS BORN,
IT BRINGS WITH IT THE HOPE
THAT GOD IS NOT YET
DISAPPOINTED WITH MAN"
I feel sure that he was rcfering to the girl child.
References / further reading:
1.
A woman’s health is more than a medical issue.
- Cathie Lyons - Contact No. 80, Aug. 1984
2.
Health Information of India 1987 - CBHI, DGHS, G.O.I.,
3.
Women in India - surviving against odds.
- Srilata Batliwala - E.P.W.
4.
Women’s role in health and development - Dr Shanti Ghosh V.H.A.
3&4 from Report on 2nd Regional Conference IUHE-SEARB 11-13 Feb’89
UNICEF Annuel Report 1990
5.
6.
South Asia Conference on Children - India situation analysis
1986 July.
7.
Generating.awareness on the Girl Child: an overview
- Anchita Ghatak Menon (CINI) vol xv no.3, June ’89
Health for the Millions.
8.
Water for child survival and development - Dr K R Antony
vol no.3 no.3. March 1990 ’Health Action’
9.
SAARC Conference on South Asian Children
- conference report - Children First - New Delhi 27-29 Oct ’86.
***********
*********
*****
15
Education of the Girl ChjLld
-
Dr Malathi Somaiah
The year 1990 has been declared as the Year of the Girl Child
oy SAARC.
This clearly indicates that the status and condition of
the girl child requires a lot more attention than what has been
provided.
Henceforth, the utmost priority has to be given by the
various individuals and organisations who are working for the
welfare of the girl child.
There are several areas which need improvement in order to
provide a meaningful, pleasant and comfortable life for a girl
child and help her to evolve into a more complete human being.
Some of the improvements required are in the areas of health,
education, employment; change in
,thc attitude of the society
and an improvement in socio-economic framework in which a girl
child takes birth, lives and grows into a woman.
This paper looks
at only one such component required for the development of the
girl child and that is the education, of the girl child.
Whenever any indicators of development are examined, some of
the following areas where a girl child does not get an equal
share are clearly brought out.
Those indicators include high
infant mortality, low literacy rate, high drop-out rate, low
level of schooling, etc.
In order for a girl child to actively
participate in the process of development and to reap the fruits
of it for her own growth and development, it is important that
she gains certain cognitive skills and attitudinal changes to be
able to live in a society which does not .give her an equal share
of its resources.
This clearly brings out a case as to why one
has to be concerned about the education of the girl child.
Such
education has envisaged to bring about changes in several areas,
given the fact that education is one of the greatest forces for
change in women's lives.
It is also one of the areas in which,
universally, women have made the greatest recent gains, and even
in the poorest countries, governments have made impressive invest
ments in education over the. last several decades.
Education influences a woman’s chances of paid employment,
her earning power, as well as her control over child bearing
*
It enables her in exercising of legal and political rights.
Her
ability to care for herself and her children also improves with
education.
If a girl child has to be assertive and demand for her
rights, she requires self-confidence and self-esteem to deal with
an extremely harsh environment.
One of-the most important
strengths would be the level and quality of education that she
gets.
Let us look at some of the facts of girls’ education as it
exists today, which show that :
16
* boys outnumber girls in school;
* rate of dropouts among girls is much higher than boys;
* rate of dropouts of girls before completing grade 4 is the
highest: both among boys and girls and among girls at different
levels of schooling;
* inequality of educational opportunities is highest among girls;
* Access tc school is lowest to girlsin India;
* literacy rate is lower among women than men,
Given such a scenario of girls1 education, several factors
which come in the way of the education of a girl child can be
identified.
Most of them are mainly rural-based, living in
poverty and with no access to schools.
Added to these are
family hurdles to attend school,
as the responsibility of caring
for siblings usually devolves around girls. Often, attainment of
puberty restricts chances of continued schooling, especially
where there arc no schools meant exclusively for girls.
Invest
ment on education, especially for the girl child, is perceived
as nan-productive; the girl child has the least bargaining power
far limited resources in a family for education.
Further there is a lack of *
role
models for girls, which
could be either by way of women, and these further reduces
chances of a girl child attending school.
If the.Year of the Girl Ghild has to result in substantial
changes in the life of a girl child, a large number of important
decisions have to be made both by government and non-government
organisations, individuals, families, mothers of the girl child
and of course, by the girl herself.
In the area of education,
some of these decisions include raising investment on the
education of the girl child, providing greater access to schooling,
removing hurdles whic'h come in the way of her schooling, provi
ding quality education which alone helps her to botn remain in
the education system and to competewith others for limited educa
tion and employment opportunities, laying greater emphasis on
the importance of women’s literacy so that a woman would not
withdraw ner daughter from the school at an undesirable stage *
of her education.
Even if a modest beginning is made in these
areas, I think that would be the greatest gift one can think
of, to a girl child in a developing country like India, as part
of the SAARC Year of the Girl Child.
***********
***********
**
school teachers or literate mothers
17
»WOHK AND THE G IHL CHILD
Ms Nomita Chandy
What speaks most eloquently of the state of the working children
in this country, are the statistics.
They are so widely varying as
to be totally UNBELIEVABLE.
They range from the Government figures,
based on the 1981 census of 13.6 million, to the National Sample
Survey (1983) figures of 17.36 million; Non-governmental estimates
of the Operations Research Group, Baroda are given as 44 million;
to a whopping 111 million projected by the Balai Data Bank.
One
can only comment that the figures are not really known, or that
they vary because of the different parameters used by the data
collecting agencies, and whet is most telling of all is that possibly
no one cares enough to make these projections seriously.
Two things
seem to remain fluid; what constitutes the age of a ’’child” and \
what exactly constitutes ’’work”.
If this statistical confusion
evolves around the working child, one can imagine how much more con
**
fused the dqta is regarding the GIRL CHILD, more specifics,Uy•
A Times of India report in 1 988, stated that ’’Girls perform tasks
which do not lead to akill formation.
As much as 84^ of working
females are found to be illiterate and with no skill, education or
avenues for training.
The firl child’s opportunities on the labour
market are limited, so that she is tied to the low-paying, backbreaking, and expletive jobs” - and what is most significant, ’’The
EXPLOITED FIRL later becomes The EXPLOITED WObiAN”.
The firls also
are the just to be retrenched whenever technology is improved in
order to increase production.
Much of the work done by the firl remains unseen and is hardly
constituted or recognised as work by the society or her family
members. From a very young age she is involved fully in household
chores, child minding, agricultural work, looking after livestock
and gathering fuel-woods.
She.has-in effect no childhood at all;
In urban areas, firls are engaged in domestic labour and contract
daily work.
A UNICEF report estimates that by the time a cjirl
grows up she has contributed approximately Rs.40,000 to her family
through the bemefits accruing from her work.
Yet she is seen as
a ’’burden" to her family and her contribution remains invisible
and unappreciated, so to speak.
The idea of parents is to get as
much out of a daughter as possible, before she is married.
Whild for the most part the firl child’s work remains invisble,
in certain industries like the match industry, for instance, one c^n
see her up-front.
It is said that of the 45,000 children working
in the match industry in Sivakasi, 90% are
firls below the age
of 14.
The Beedi industry employs about 300,000 children and most
of them are girls.
The Jaipur gem polishing industry employs about
6000 girls.
Thousands of girls are employed in the Carpet industry,
in making brassware and locks; in chikan embroidery, zari work, coir,
agarbati and garment industries.
A great part of this work remans
"unseen" as it is done at home. However, it is accepted that the
bulk of the female child labour is to be found in the rural areas.
18
Girls tend to join the workforce earlier than boys and because qf
their age, sex and poverty, they remain the most exploited section *'
of the Indian labour force.
Most of the work She does involves^ long '
h.mos, low pay and conditions of work that are most hazardous to her'
health.
Jobe in the carpet industry for instance, in which she has
to adapt herself to a squatting posture over .long working hours, ends
up in stunting her growth and in difficult pregnancies in her later
years.
In the beedi industry, T.B. as’thama and bronchitis, are common
diseases affedting children, especially girl child, who has limited
access to health services. Her health problems are compounded .by
the harmful materiel she wors with, in bod working conditions and her
low nutritional intake.
Detailed work like chikan’embroidery and zari
work advarsely affects eye-sight.
Female working children like rag
pickers and domestic servants also face sexusl abuse and violence.
The exploitation of the working girl child continues unabated for
various reasons.
Part of the problems is that while her work is not
recognised by her family; law’and Government policy inadvertently,
also do not recognise her ’’work”, as efforts to control or regulate
the situation have, for various reasons, concentrated only on the
organised sector. Between 1970 and 1990 work participation of girls
seems to have increased and that of boys decreased.
It is stated
thtt ”If the definition of child labour includes children engaged
in unremunerative work, tfte estimated figure for child labourers would
be approximately 45 million.
More than half of these are girls”.
Very little has been done to check this exploitation, because though
we are looking at a system which has excellent built in legal controls,
the implementation of the law is practically non-existent.
i
As far back as 1987 a survey of. child labour was proposed by the
then Union Minister of State for Labour, Mr. Sangama.
He .had
risked the States to conduct these surveys and had promised that 75
percent of the cost would be borne by the Centre.
One wonders what
has happened to those surveys? In an even more telling statement,
the Labour Minister of V/est Bengal requested the Centre to remove
the ’’anomaly” in the rule barring the employment of children below
14 years in the plantation industry, provided a certificate .of
fitness was obtained!
This seems to be a strange request,.considering
the high rate of adult unemployment in this country.
Wht in deed,
ere'children employed at all one might ask?
It is well known
that most of the wages earned by children, especially the girl child,
are used
for the benefit and indulgence of the male adults in the
family and the benefits of her hard labour do not filter down to the
girl at all.
There also seems to be an unholy alliance betwec;.
official agencies and the employers who prefer to employ children
because fef the low wages they can pay them (well below the statutory
minimum wage) and because -children are more pliable and easy to
manipulate.
In the carpet industry in Kashmir, Government itself
exploits child labour in the so called training-cum-production
centres which are geared to foreign exports and huge profits.
What can the media do to help remedy this situation?
I would
think that one of the most essential things to do is to make the
female child’s work "visible”, by Government, by society and by
her own family.
It is a truism that ’what we don’t see we don’t
care about”.
Media pressure can also ensure that data about
19
working children especially the girl child, is properly tabulated
and that some common parameters are drawnpp.
It. is only when we
are aware of the maganitude and the diversity of the problem,
that strategies can evplved to find viable solutions to help
the girl child.
Perhaps, with the use of powerful media like television, once
the family and society can "see" the vital contribution made by
the girl to the family economy and the national economy, her
"value” and image will slowly improve and she will have a better
status in her community and better access to its resources.
The media can also act as the "conscience” of the nation to
ensure that alws which protect the girl child are strictly
enforced, and -widely .publicized.
With a concerted effort to
consciencise and educate the public with regard to the gross
exploitation of the girl child by vested interests, vis a vis
her rights, much can be done to remedy the situation
*
Most
important of all, the press can certainly ’’hustle” Government .
into action to protect the girl child.
In the more organised
sectors, we find there are concentrated pockets of child laboutj
revolving around specific industries.
With stepped up bureaucratic
controls involving senior, committed and honest officials in
these areas, a strong effort can be made to control unauthorised
child labour.
If the press can keep alive issues such as
?Bofors’, they can certainly do a great deal to improve the
status of the working girl-child through an unrelenting, long
term effort to effect change.
A new census is about to be conducted in 1991.
It is essential
that this census collects adequate and varied data on the girl
child, sc that once and for all the statistical confusion is
sorted out; and that the definition of "work" is widened appro
priately to include all categories of work, organised and un
organised, including household work.
I wonder if the situation would change if Government paid a
scholarship or stipend of Rs. 100/- per month to the family of each
girl child admitted into school. Perhaps the burden on the ex
chequer would be huge to start off with, but now that it is widely
accepted that women’s education is a vital tool in the process of
development and social change, perhaps the long term social
benefits would be immeasurable.
While families have a vested
financial interest in putting
'-the girl child to work, let them
instead have a vested interest in letting her attend school.
Moreover, by pemoving millions of children from the labour force,
more adults could find gainful employment and the percentage of
unemployment would come down and working conditions would improve.
All this needs political will and a social conscience,.
I sec the
media as the most appropriate mediator in creating this climate
of "change.
.What' kind of country are we, we might ask
of our economic growth is built on the backs
and at their expense?, Something needs to be
bring thousands of children out of the ’’dark
the 20th century.
ourselves, that part
of our children,
donw urgently to
middle ages” into
nN INTRODUCTION TQ THE RESOURCE PERSONS
Dr Shirdi Prasad Tekur is with the Community Health Cell, .
He is a practising paediatrician, with various
Bangalore.
interests ranging from allopathic medicine,
in which.he had
his training, to alternative forms of medicine and community
health.
,
>
Dr Malathi Somiah, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of
Management, Bangalore, is a specialist in education manage
ment, working in the area of teaching, training and research,
f cussing basically on the application of management techni
ques to education, evaluation of social projects and effective
communication and training of trainers.
ris Namita Chandy
Bangalore.
is with Ashraya, a :cp,iid welfare agency in
Her work and interests centre around under
privileged children and their welfare.
Ms Chandy is
presently an Executive Committee member of the Karnataka
Council for Child Welfare.
Her main focus
find
alternatives for children placed in institutional care.
Mr Chandramouli is Producer, English Programmes, All India
Radio, Bangalore.
Ms Jai Chandiram is Director, Central Production Centre,
Doordarshan, New Delhi, and has worked extensively in the
area of educational audio-visual media.
21
Ms Nalini Ramanna is producer,
English Programmes,
at
Doordarshan, Bangalore and takes a keen interest in
womenrs and children’s issues.
ils Sekuntala Narasimhan,.a journalist, writes a column on
women’s issues for the Deccan Herald.
She is also- the
author of four books, the latest one on Sati having just
been published.
Ms Sakuntala also teaches post-graduate
students of journalism and has recently returned from a
Fulbright assignment in the U.5.
Prof M S Nagaraj, former Head of the English Department
at Renukacharya College,N-s a media critic and also
actively involved in dramatics.
22
.-leoia
Workshop on wMedia and the Girl Child:- Strategies to Effect Change
T*
Date
: 20.12.1990
Hotel Ashraya International, Bangalore
List of Participants
Mr M V Krishnaswamy,
224, IV rtain, Malleshwaram
Bangalore 560 055
Ph :
Ms N S Krishnakumari
Joint Women’s Programme, ‘
73, Miller Road, Benson Town
Bgngalore 560 046
-Ph : 330335
Mr M S Nagaraja Ms Shakuntala Nagaraja
nPrabhanjana” 999, IV Block
Rs Aruna Subramaniam
Rajajinagar, Bangalore 560 010
Joint Women’s Programme
Ph : 357349
73, Miller Road, Benson Town
Bangalore
Ms Poile Ambika Sengupta
2021, HAL II stage, Indiranagar
Bangalore 560 038.
560 046.
Ms S Chandraprabha
All India Eadio, Bangalore 560 C01
Ms Mohiina Singh
404, Hussainabad, 5/15, Langford
Road, Bangalore
Ph ; 226909/216132
Ms Nusrath Fatima
Assistant Director, Special Cell
Dept of Women & Childrens
Welfare, Multistoreyed Bulg.
Dr Ambedkar Veedi, Bangalore - 1
PH: 268212
Mr Prakash Belawadi
276/C, 37th Cross, 8th Block
Jayanagar, Bangalore 560 072.
Ph : 643874
Mr Balashander
3194, HAL II Stage., Bangalore-38
Ms Deenaz Damania
-33, Benson Cross Road
Bangalore
560 046
Ph : 576955
Ms Geetha ^hanker
ME5CA, 10/2, Jakkur, P.B 6417
Bangalore
560 064
Dr Shirdi Prasad Tekur
Community Health Cell
326, V Main, I Block, Koramangala
Bangalore 560 034
Ph : 531518
Dr Kavery R Bhatt
Kodagu Hospital, Ganapathy Road,Gonicoppal 571 213 godagu
Ph : (08273) 268
Ms Maya Chandra
18, Police Station Road
Basavangudi, Bangalore 560 004
Ph : 646407
Ms Indira Yesupriya Gajaraj
All India Radio, Bangalore 560001
Ph : 258151
23
Ms Nalini Ramanna
Ms B L Lalitha
MsMSSarala
Bangalore Doordarshan Kendra
J C Nagar, Bangalore
Mr A S Chandra Mouli
Ms Yamuna Murthy
Shylaja Devraj
All India Radio, Rajbhavan Road
Bangalore 560 001 Ph:258151
Mr A Ram Babu
Ms C K Meena
Deccan Herald, M G Road x
Bangalore 560 001
Ph : 573291
Mr Devarajaiah
Mr S Maheswaraiah
Information & Publicity Office
Infantry Road, Bangalore - 1
:2:
Ms Ammu Joseph
142, 3rd Cross, 4th Main, HAL III
Stage, Bangalore 30
Ph: 541875
Mr Gaffoor
MYRABA, Hosur, B70, SIPCOT
Housing Colony, Hosur.
Dr Malathi Somaiah
Indian Institute of Management
Bangalore
560 076
Ph 642501
Ms Sakuntala Narasimhan
810, Bhaskara, TIER Colony
Bombay 400 005
Ms Bhargavi Nagarajo^
11, Uttardi Hutt Road
Basavan^udi, Bangalore 560 004
Ph 629668
Ms Indu Ramesh
All India Radio
R ej bhavan Road
Bangalore 560 001
Dr Saraswathy Ggnapathy
I S S T
Taranga, 10th Cross RMV Extn
Bangalore 560 080
Ph :
340315
Ms Smita Premchander
National Institute of Design
B-112, Rajajinagar Ind’l Estate
Bangalore 560 044
Ph: 359873
Mr S J fchand er
Community Health Cell
326, V Main, I Block, Koramangala
Bpngalore 560 034
Ph 531518
24
background material given at the workshop
1.
The State of the Worlds Children 1991
- Surjimary ' R eport - UNICEF
2.
The Girl Child in India - UNICER
3.
The Girl Child in Karnataka - Madhyam
Media Kit
Bangalore
4.
State-wise Classification Based on Birth
and Death Rates and Literacy (NIPCCD Bangalore)
25
- Media
1806.pdf
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