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O'
MADHYAM

INFORMATION PACK
NCO S AND TBE BRESS 2VNT INTTEREACE

COMPILED

BY

MLAaOMYAM

DECEMBEB IT41' 1996
CONTENTS .

1. CHLIBB LABOUR

2. CHIBB ABUSE
3. WOMENINPOLITICS

577?

5^3 - /f 97
______ SITUATION ANALYSIS
chapter;^

THE COUNTRY SITUATION
The Paradoxes

With a population of 865 million (growing at 2.1% p.a) India is the second most populous
country in the world and ranks sixth in land area. Its kaleidoscope of peoples, languages,
religions, castes, etc, make it easily one of the most complex societies anywhere. Yet,
since Independence in 1947 India has, unlike many other developing countries, evolved a
sound democratic tradition through holding of regular and, by and large, free elections.
The political space that.exists for dissent in India is unique in the developing world and
even puts it a cut above some of the so- called developed countries — particularly of
Southeast and East Asia.
India is the ninth most industrialised country in the world with technical and scientific
power to place its own satellites in orbit. The purchasing power of middle class Indians,
some 200 million of them, would be the envy of any developing country. Indeed, it is these
two factors that underlie the widely held view that India has the potential io turn itself into
an economic tiger in the not too distant future.
Paradoxically, however, India is also one of the poorest nations with a per capita GNP of
$360. It ranks 134 out of 173 countries on the United Nations Development Progamme’s
Human Development Index. More than a third of the world’s absolute poor (i.e. over 300
million) live here. About 73 million children do not attend school, a similar number under
fives are malnourished and 220 million have no access to clean water, according to the
UNDP (Human Development Report, 1993). India's human rights record has also come in
for severe criticism.
Female literacy of 39.4% (1991 census) is among the lowest in the developing world. Yet
in 1990, the Indian government spent a mere 2.5% of its budget on education (most of it
for higher education); 1.6% on health. In contrast, neighbouring Nepal spent 10.9% and
4.8% respectively. Social spending may fall further in the wake of an economic recession,
which has seen GDP growth fall from 5.6% in 1990-91 to 1.5% in 1991-92, and a crushing
foreign debt of over $70 billion — the third highest after Brazil and Mexico.

-

CHILD
LABOUR
POSITION
PAPERSj****************************************************
■

/

“

•”

Over 17 million children are working as child labours, in hazardous
I

and dangerous activities l

“Over 90% are Indian Child Labours In the states of Andhra Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra,U.P. Karnataka State,Blhar Tamil Nadu,

a

Gujarat, Rajasthan,Orissa and West Bengal t

Government iviants to eliminate child labour top the year 2000 And
has allotted Rs.34.AO crores,for the year 1995-96 «

3

^he-^1rlnnaar<Authnrrty for Elimination of Child Labour has prepared
objectives to be undertaken »-

Enforcement of law for protection of
chlldren.Wlthdrawing children from work and sending them to school
vocational trainings,with stipend and mid day meals, Ecnomlc
sustenance for parents of children taken out of work,by providing
job and Increase Incomes. Preventing fresh entry of children

,

i

Into occupations th rougi education :

Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act 1986 from working witfcRallways,Carpet,Cement,Construction,
1

5

Cloth,Dying,Weaving,Match Industry,
Fireworks,Beedi,Printing and Electronics*
Child Labour Is a deep rooted socio-economic problem,Indla Legisl­

ation and policy are In line with the 1979 resolution of the ILO t
NOOs could supplement government efforts to eliminate child labour*
Under the Human Resource Ministry Non Formal Education has been
Introduced for Child Labours In the age group of 6 to 14 years *

T-

8

IJ

According to the 1981 census there are 11 lakh child labours in
>
Karnataka and these children work for 10-12 hours a day. 1978 census
f
shows that there were 2 crores child labour 1n India.
J

It ls-estlmated that tn DELHI alone there are aver 4 lakh children
who are engaged as Child Labours,more than 1,50,000 of whom are
Street Children and these children from street are mostly deviant

1

ways and this hamper their overall growth.
Tn India 90% of the people live In slum areas and 50% in cl-frles
India’s slum population Is expected to touch 62 millions by 2000
A.D. of which 32 million will be living In cities :
to

II

"CATEGORY OF WORKING CHILDREN, engaged in working within & for the
IaMly.Going out to~work with parents.Employed In different enter- I
prlses.Engaged In self-employment*

The Government target set forth In the program^of action is to
provide education,Including literacy,to about 40 million illiter­
ates by 1990 and another 60 million illiterates in the age group
of 15 - 35 by 1995 *

7

• 2-

12. According to an off leal estimate regarding enrollment
of children,there are 770 lakhs children in the age group
6-11 and 220 lakhs children th the age group 11 - 1$ while
1359 lakh are working chlldren.The remaining children of age
group 6-11 are either out of school or street children in
the age group 6-14 are working places are difficult :

PROBLEMS OF WORKtNG CHILDREN:Development problems.
Nutritional and health problems.
Exploitation.
Access to education.

14. India has the largest number of worldfs working children
1991 census.INDIA:
Govt Sources :- 1981 - 18.6 million child workers :
1983 - 17.56 million child workers :

NOD Sources :- 44 million :

Statewlse

1981 census :-

Andhra Pradesh 1754

I

1372 : MUMBAI 1263 : U.P. 1246 :

KARNATAKA 966 : Bihar 990 : Tamil Nadu 921 : Rajasthan 604 :
and Kerala has the lowest record in child labour :

15* The ill effects of Child Labour :-The child loses the child­
hood,at a tender age and lack of family ties has a negative
impact on their emotional state:
16. VARIOUS LEGISLATIONS RELATED TO CHILDREN IN INDIA
Pledging of labour Act, 1993 :
EEployment of children Act, 1958 t
Minimum Wages Act, 1948
Factories Act, 1948,
Plantation Labour Act, 1958,
Mines Act, 1952,
Merchant shipping, Act, 1958,
Motor Transport Workers Act,1961,
Apprentices Act, 1961,
Atomic Energy Act, 1962,
Beedi Workers Act 1966,
Shops & Establishment Act, 1986,
Prohibition of Child Labour Act, 1986,
Convention on Ri^its of Child 1992,

17. India has about 23 million able bodied mem and women,-who-do
not have jobs,at the same time -there are from 17 to 44 mill­
ion child workers slaving at jobs which adult should be doing.

8

3
/

-3 for attention aa about
CACL-K reports that the issue clamours
the
56.76 mi 11<on working children
— country are working as
cheap labours »
The National HirnEnH^i^ommrsSTon states thaFhigh incfdenEe st
of TB among child labours is found so far I

Constitution which under Article 24 prohibits any child below

the age of 14 from employment t
Constitution concerning unviersal primary education under Article
45 remains largely unfulfilled:
JO lakh girls die each year out of one-fourth of the 12 million
girls bom «n Indie every year.de not-see their 15th bifrthday
UMT.CEF reports every sixth
sixth female child death occurs due to gender

dfserin!nation s
- , -

-

j

■ i

■

or

t
Dr.Malathi Das Secretary,DeptTf Women & Child Development says
92% of the country total Tafro.r force Is child labour : And 80%
of working children are directly engaged in agrlctural and allied
areas,the study was done by 5 MX)s in 5 divisions,Bangalore.Belgaui

Gulburga,Mysore,Banaglcro City by DEEDS :

CACL-K~reports a national calitlon of nearly 1,000 NCOS atleast
74.8 million children in India are out of school and working I
And for instant the vast majority of adult workers in India - 290
million or 92 % of the epfintry total labour force la employed in
i nformal sectors :
‘ : are usually nlgrants from Managa]
Child Labours In Bena gio re hotels
places,CtfC reports that In Banaglore-so
Managalore and other rurla
L__
far there are 3t052 hotels and; about 6000 chifl labours are working
only 1% -that Is 342 child labours
Labour Dept was able to cdetect
---- -j 20 workers on an avenge In each
CITU estimates that there are
establishment thus ’the
— total
— - number could be over 60f000.Of these
‘
j 50% of hotels in Karnataka
13,000 to 14,000 are children, since
are in Sana gio re it
J. - could
----- be assumed that there are 27»OOO child
labours In hotel In the entire state.17,400 children work In hotels
In Bangalore,the shop Act states of 1961 not to employ under age
of 12 years any ch11drentbut these children work from 4.30 AM to
11 PM..
* 1 of Magadl consist of child labour's
90% of work force In Silk Units
reports that there are
a cording to CACL—K activist Ms.Saroja
1
8,000 ch-Id labours employed by silk units in the eg e group of 6

-16 years

____

*199/1-95 girls accounted for
Nat* nal Llteraxy Miss*on reports,

- 4 42.8% of those enroled In primary-schools,J8.9% of those tn
middle school, 74.of thoso tn higher secondary school and
34% of those In falser oducatfonal Institutions

Slure Population In India up by 67% (rose to 46,621 million tn
1991 from 27.92 million In 1981 shewing 67% Increase In a decade.
Over 16 lakh people live In-slum In state residing In 1,871 slum
In Karnataka state,survey conducted by KSCS t

1

t

li-

A GLIMPSE OF CHILDREN WORKING IN VARIOUS INDUSTRIES
Nature of work

Places

No. of child
labourers
80000

1

Match and fire works

Sivakashi

2

Stone quarries

Kerala
Markapur (AP)

NB:

20000

3

Mines

Meghalaya

28000

4

Fishing

Kerala

20000

5

Handloom

Trivandrum

10000

6

Hosiery

Tirupur

4000

7

Lock industiy

Aligarh

10000

8

Carpet weaving

J&K
Uttar Pradesh

150000

9

Glass

Ferozepur

50000

10

Pottery

Khuija

5000

11

Gem Polishing

Jaipur

13000

The above list excludes the agriculture sector which has significant number of “invisible
child labourers".

SOURCE: Dingwaney CACL, 1993

"I H 01
/

(

d1
Si
0

22

Mandsaur (MP)

' J 1

'■/

C C;
1

‘/g

U FEB

Eenie, meenie, minor more
hild labour is one of the
gravest problems India,
together with other
south Asian countries,
confronts at present. By plan­
ning commission estimates
there would be close to 20 mil­
lion child workers by the year
2000.
Independent studies, though,
have concluded that this figure
*s inaccurate. The Operation
esearch Group of Baroda
placed the figure at about 44
million.
The 1981 census indicated
that more than half of India’s
159 million children between
ages 6 and 14 were not in
school. This suggested they
could well be involved in some
kind of child labour, especially
in rural Intiia.
Child labour is employed
less in government setups than
in
private
enterprises.
Employment of children is very
high in the Sivakasi match fac­
tory, the glass industry in
Firozabad, the brassware indus­
try in Moradabad, the carpet
industry in Mirzapur, the lock
making industry in Aligarh and
the slate making industry in
Maridasaur.
Needless to say, these chil- dren work long hours with little
■•»y in miserable conditions,
.th the consolidation of land­
holdings and mechanised farm­
ing, in the agricultural sector,
hired adults work on other peo­
ple’s strips. They are nearly
always accompanied by their
children.
The national human rights
commission in its annual report
has stated it is not the lack of
legislations that is responsible
for the persistence of this prac­
tice. Legislations already exist
for the prohibition and regula­
tion of child labour.
Apart from the provisions
under the various labour laws
like the Factory Act, 1948, the
Mines Act, 1952 and the Bidi
and Cigar workers (Conditions
of Employment) Act, 1976,
child labour is also prohibited
in scheduled occupations and
processes under the Child
Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act, 1986.
The Constitution provides an
impressive set of rights for chil­
dren. Article 24 prohibits
employment of children below
llif iig‘- “I I'I v<"’i ••• in imv fix toy, milir Oi olbei lutzni ihmst
a<iclivities.
Article 39 directs that chil­
dren and young people should
be protected against moral and
material abandonment.
Article 45 provides that the
state shall endeavour to provide
free and compulsory education
for all children till the age of 14.
S The failure of the state to pro

vide free compulsory education
for all children within (hr time
mentioned in the Constitution
has compelled the Supreme
Court to declare the right to
education as a “fundamental
right to life” under Article 21.
Article 32 of the United
Nations convention vis a vis the
rights of the child was ratified
by India in December 1992. It
provides that “the state parties
recognise the right of the child
to be protected from economic
exploitation and from perform­
ing any work that is likely to
interfere with the child’s educa­
tion and to be harmful to the
child’s health or physical, men­
tal, spiritual and social develop­
ment”.
A strong political and soci­
etal will to enforce these legal
and constitutional provisions
has been missing.
In June, 1995, an NIIRC
investigating team paid a sur­
prise visit to Firozabad, where
there is a large concentration of

the nature of work a child can
do. Further, (be survey also
points ou( (hat Kerala has over
the years developed a healthy
culture of educating the young.
It is this rather than the
enforcement of laws which have
kept children out of the labour
market. There is a lesson in this
for the rest of India.
Large families comprise
another factor. The size is a
direct corollary of poverty and
illiteracy. Parents in such fami­
lies are often compelled to send
at least one or more of their
children to work since they can­
not afford to educate all of
them. In such a setup, the girl
child is victimised: her brother
is sent to school while she is
burdened with domestic chores.
Contrary to popular notions,
poverty is the consequence
rather than the cause of child
labour. Children lacking both in
skills and education grow up as
as substandard workers. They,
in turn, have large families and

Not mere legislation but a sustained political
and societal will would help eliminate child
labour in India, writes Sankar Sen
child labour in the region’s
glass industry.
It appeared the district
labour enforcement officer and
the assistant director of facto­
ries, Kanpur, had already car­
ried out inspections of the vari­
ous glass producing units.
Tnough as many as 178 cases
were initiated for prosecution,
and 54 of them were under way,
only one case ended in convic­
tion. The reasons for acquittal
in most of the cases were the
lack of proof of the children’s
ages and die non-availability of
factory records of names and
other particulars of the minors.
In India, there is no one
dearcut legal definition of die
child. The census of India
speaks of persons below the age
of 14 as duldren.
According to the Juvenile
Justice Act, 1986, a juvenile is a
boy under 16 years and a girl
below 18 years of age. Under
the Child labour Act (Provision
and Regulation) Act, 1986, a
child is one who has completed
14 years.
Perhaps, one of the main
reasons for the prevalence of
< hihl labour in India is (he far(
f hal pi huiti V «’<Ih< al l«>n In not
compulsory. Children out of
school’perform odd duties for
long hours and often under sub­
human conditions. Also, the
parents of these children are
too poor to send them to school.
A study in Kerala has
revealed diat school attendance
protects the children from haz­
ardous labour and sets limits on

put their children through the
same miserable paces.
Child labour is particularly
common in south Asian nations
as it is believed to be inexpen­
sive and profitable. A child
labourer works the same hours
as his adult counterpart and is
paid far less than the latter.
Also, a child is easier to
manipulate. A majority of the
carpet weaving workshop own­
ers in Pakistan admitted that
availability of cheap child
labour is the determining factor
behind selecting a region to
start the business.
The NIIRC has taken some
significant steps for the elimina­
tion of child labour in haz­
ardous industries. In December
1994, a high level team from the
commission visited Firozabad in
Uttar Pradesh. It estimated that
out of more than 250,000 work­
ers in organised and informal
sectors in the glass industry
about 25 per cent comprised
children.
They were made to work in a
polluted environment, without
proper food and health care. In
a meeting with the chief secretaiV ”f UP, tbr li'iirn advised
|b«- Hillf I’OVI-I IIIIKIll

l«l billllll

late a s< heme Im ih<* eliiiiin.i
tion of child labour in glass and
carpet weaving industries. The
talk has apparently led to
results.
The UP government has pre­
pared an integrated programme
for eliminating child labour in
the glass indusdy. The project
aims to rehabilitate some

50,000 children within six years
at an estimated outlay of Rs 61
million. The Union ministry of
labour has already sanctioned
one million rupees to get the
project off the ground. The
state government is setting up
schools with Central support for
the purpose of educating the
children weaned away from the
glass industry. The programme
also aims at initiating an aware­
ness campaign.
The results of a survey of
child labour in the saree indus­
try of Varanasi were depress­
ing. Thousands of children from
the Ansari — weaving commu­
nity — families work in the
saree industry from the age of
six.
The children put in nearly 10
hours a day in unhealthy condi­
tions. The wages are abysmally
low. Sometimes the parents of
these children take a loan on
the latter’s salary. Thus, the
child cannot leave till the loan
is paid off. This mindset is
passed on from generation to
generation.
With India’s ratification of
the UN convention on the rights
of the child 1989, there is
renewed concern in governmen­
tal circles regarding this issue.
In the 1994 Republic Day
speech, the prime minister
announced a phased pro­
gramme for eliminating child
labour.
As a result, a body called the
national authority for the elimi­
nation of child labour has been
constituted, which proposes to
rid India of the abuse by 2000.
A sum of Rs 8.5 billion has been
earmarked for its implementa­
tion. But the exact number of
cluld labourers in India is yet to
be determined, as various sur­
veys present different figures.
Now there is international
pressure, notably from business
collaborators, to eliminate child
labour from hazardous indus­
tries. In 1993, the IndianGerman export promotion pro­
ject established the “Rugmark”
foundation, which would certify
carpets made without the help
of child labour.
Hence, such a certificate is
only granted to those manufac­
turers who agree not to employ
children below the age of 14 in
their factories. Though such
steps are laudable, their effica­
cy will continue tn remain in
<|ii<--;l Ion tii»l«-*n on 4il(«-i unlive
pi ogi ainiiK* Is woikeil mil Im
the child labourers.
Eliminating this social
malaise also demands strong
political and societal will. State
initiatives have to be comple­
mented by those of voluntary
and non-governmental organisa­
tions. But what will help most is
a sustained peoples’ movement,.

/
/

STREET CHILDREN
1-

Rigorous Laws Needed
By N. S. MANI

ACCORDING Io Article 1 of
-tVtliB U.N. Convention, a child
means “every human being be­
low the age of 18 years unless
under the law majority is al­
lowed earlier". Crawling and
trotting on the pavements, rail­
way and bus station precincts,
under the flyovers, parks and
other open places of the city are
hundreds of thousands of a com­
munity called the street child­
ren.
Their parentage unknown,
and with no future for them In
sight, they grow on their own.
Most of them are forced to lino
up near places of worship, near
water fronts and other crowded
i places seeking alms. Their earn■ mgs would not be theirs nor do
* they care.
I
Right from birth, the children
| grow with little or no care and
affection even from mothers till
the time they are able to walk.
Even from the day of birth, the
mother uses the child as a tool to
arouse public sympathy for her
profession — begging.

CRIME
When the children are able to
walk, they are forced to engage
in some kind of profession like
rag-picking, begginc, cleaning
cars and other small-time jobs.
Some of the jobs are hazardous
too. Eventually many of them

of street children go into the
pockets of these anti-socials For
begging, the sympathy generat­
ing factor is lire street children
with their innocent looks. The
anti-socials have a great role in
converting female street child­
ren into prostitutes. Their stran­
glehold can be broken only by
the Government but whether the

Government would like to crack
down on them remains a ques­
tion mark. The nexus between
politicians and nntl-soclals Is
well known.
The recent economic reforms
tend to generate high expecta­
tions anil a secure future for all.
India has always displayed its
potential to achieve what it sets
out to do, despite the inter­
ference of politicians.
The convention on the rights
of the child adopted by the

rTHE Planning Commission
-I estimates that there would
be around 25 million child
workers by the year 2000. Street
children, who have no fixed
dwellings and whose percentage
is often unknown, constitute the
bull of this labour force. A

India. Children invariably are
made to perform some kind of
work either at home or outside
at wages that are exploitative
and done in clearly harmful con­
ditions.

solution lies in the adoption of
harsh legislative measures to
moke primary education com­
pulsory and hiring of child
labours punishable, says the
author, a freelance writer.

Most of these working child­
ren belong to extremely poor
families and the parents of such
children are themselves devoid
of any education. Here counsel­
ling is necessary to the parents
too. In some cases the parents
live on the earnings of their
children and they care little
about what the children do to
get the money. These children
therefore are tne ones who need
education most of all to break
out of the poverty and debt
trap.
Legislative measures have to
be adopted to make primary
education compulsory and hir­
ing of children tor labour should
be made punishable. Creating
social awareness of this problem
should be considered an impor­
tant element of public action to
ensure the eradication of child
labour.
According to Article 12 of the
U.N. Convention, the State
“shall ensure that no child is
arbitrarily detained or subjected
to torture, cruel, inhuman or.
degrading treatment or punish­
ment. capital punishment or life
imprisonment. Accused child­
ren have the right to !>e prosiuiied Ii>ii<h:<ii>I until provim
guilty In n prompt and fair Irlnl,
Io legal or oilier assistance, to be
detained separately from adults,
to maintain contact with family
and to receive a sentence based
on rehabilitation rather than |
punishment".
Street
children
naturally I

get mixed up with illegal activi­
ties like stealing, cheating,
blackmarketing and even drug
trafficking. That is for male
Genera! Assembly ot the United
children. Females in most caSes
Nations on November 20, 1989
eventually turn to prostitution.
has been signed by 159 coun­
In short, this is the main produc­
tries. With India's ratification of
tion centre of criminals and the
this convention in November
birthplace of crime.
1992, more than 90 per cent of
The problem of street children
the world s children became
is of such magnitude that it
protected by this most widely
would seem impossible to er­
ratified Human Rights conven­
adicate or even reduce it. This
tion ever in the history of the
has become a national problem
world. The convention recog­
as street children are in plenty
nizes the exceptional vulner­
all over the country. But it
ability of children and declare
appears that Calcutta is one of
that children are entitled to
the cities with the highest num­
special care and assistance.
ber of street children. It is
I estimated that two million street
children roam around happily in
It is guided by the principle
the streets of this city out the
that the highest priority should
■ authenticity of this figure is
be riven to the essential needs of
questionable. To take a census of
children. They should get a fair
street children is an Impossible
and equitable deal in society. It
task.
emphasizes the importance of
There are 57 Non-Governmen­
the family and the need to create
tal Organizations (NGOs) regis­
tered with the Social Welfare"'* an-envirofiment conducive to
the healthy growth of children.
Dopartnmnt of the State GovornIt advocatns concortetl public
inont (mil many other unregis­
action by all Individuals and
tered organizations are engaged
agencies — Governmmital and
in the welfare of street children.
non-Governmental. national and
The work of at least some of the
international — to promote the
organizations is commendable
rights of the child. The child
but the fruits of their labour is
should be able to live securely
unrecognized, because it just is
and
realize the full potential of
like taking a few drops out of the
life.
ocean. But there is one point on
However, back at home, the
which all these organizations
scene is not so encouraging.
unanimously agree: this menace
According to Article 23 of the
, cannot be eradicated unless
Indian Constitution no child
i some rigorous measures and
below
the age of 14 years should
laws are adopted by the Govern­
be
employed in any factory or.
ment and enforced sincerely.
mine or engaged in any haz­
The main hurdle is that the
ardous employment. Recently,
street children would like to
there was a report about an
remain where they belong to —
explosion in a cracker manufac­
the streets. They do not like the
turing factory killing about 35
disciplined living style, least of
children working inside the
all, the “boring education’.
factory. Such news Is common
Secondly, in many cases, street
and
frequent.
children are controlled and con­

PRIORITY

tracted by anti-socials and row­
dy elements for aiding and
aoetting their illegal activities.
At the same time the earnings

13 I 7 million children below the
age of H are engaged in labour.
17.36 million children in the a^e
group of 5 to 15 were engaged in
hazardous labour as per the
findings of National Sample
Survey conducted in 1983.
According to a survey con­
ducted tx’ Operations Research
Group (ORG).in 1983 there were
44 million child labourers. But
all these three agencies unanim- i
otisly state that over 80 per cent '
of these children are engaged In
hazardous labour. Some child­
ren are "bonded" and are sold to
prostitutes. The Planning Com­
mission estimates that there
would be around 25 million
child workers by the year 2000.
Indeed, a majestic entry into the
21st century!
The prevalence of such high
levels of child labour is attribut­
able to the fact that primary
education is not compulsory in

Economic
exploitation
of
children in India is extensive
and is always on the increase.
According to the 1981 census.

COUNSELLING

engage in some kind of labour
even at a tender age. Most ol
them are forced into hard labour
and their wages snatched away
by those who live on the earn­
ings of the children.
The message of family plan­
ning has not reached the pave­
ment dwellers or at least has not
made any impact on them, pos­
sibly because our family plan­
ning is confined only to radio
and television, the two things
inaccessible to the pavement
people. The men on the pave­
ments have only one recreation >
— sex. The result is an Increase ‘
in
the
number
of
street z|
children.
/ /’

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K

(0

DOMESTIC WORKER - CASE STUDY
Selvy is a 12 year old girl who has been working since lhe age of 8. Each morning, she wakes up at 6
am to help her mother prepare food for her father and five siblings. By 7:30 am, she leaves with her
mother Io go to a nursery where she sweeps, cleans, and takes care of children. After leaving the
nursery, she continues working, cleaning another house. At 1 pm, she reaches home, where she must
care for her younger sisters for the rest of the day.

Each month, Selvy earns Rs. 280, which she uses to buy necessities for the household consisting of 7
members. Her father is an alcoholic who often demands that she give the money to him, but she
staunchly refuses because she knows the family depends on her. She gives all the money to her
mother.
Selvy finds the domestic employment difficult and monotonous. She states that she suffers from
constant back pain, leg ache, and cough due to the arduous labour. She complains that her mother
forces her to work even when she feels very ill. Selvy is interested in studying, but she says she has
neither time nor support from her parents. She studied until the 3rd standard but left beacause her
mother forced her to work.

L2>
r

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,/

■

k
Writing on the Wall

COURTESY: CLAUDE SAUVAGEOT

Nobody’s Child
P-'-W

In the realm of child welfare or even basic concern for
children, India's record is one of callousness and neglect.

- Iwi

oliticalaccountability is the
Though
the
Indian
Constitution is commendable in
first step towards a
the sense that all sections of
healthy democracy. It is
society find a mention —
expected of the largest
political action, which is a
democracy in the world to
natural corollary of the laws
have a framework in which
accountability towards its
Upala Devi which arc enacted, is lacking.
India is a country of almost a
citizens is given top priority.
Unfortunately, this is not the ease and billion people, out of which 144 million
the adverse fallout of this affect al| arc children (under 18 years of age). Il is
therefore inevitable that this large section
sections of scx'icty, especially children.
of society would be affected by the
implementation of political will and
Upala Devi is programme officer with
,ucountability (as well as, the Lu k ol ill).
Asian Network of Women in Communica­
I ven l« l««i< lh<-1 IN < onvciilioii cii (he
tion, Now Dollii

?

M
Ml

-□-------------FLBHUAHY 19‘JU

EB'
I •ail..,
;

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IIUMANSCAI’E

Rights of the Child (CRC) was ratified by
the government in December 1992,
rights of the child found a mention in
parts III and IV of the Indian
Constitution. Since 1950 and s|>ecially
after the National Iblicy for Children in
1974, these rights have been enlarged (on
paper) through judicial review. India has
also endorsed the 27 survival and
development goals for the year 2000 laid
down by (he World Summit for children.
The ratification of the CRC was a
welcome jxditical action. The convention
draws attention to the civil, political,
socio-economic and cultural rights of
every child. These arc: 1) the right to
survival; 2) the right to protection; 3)
the right to development; and, 4) the
right to participation. However, over
three years have elapsed and the
government has yet to review all the
laws and make then compatible to the
UN convention. Although there appears
Io Ik no discrimination between an adult
and a child in respect of civil rights and
freedom, in actuality, children can
enforce their rights only through adults
and arc dependent on them for access to
justice. As Judith Evans from the
Consultative Group on Early Childhood
Care and Development points out, "The
convention and other documents can
only articulate desirable outcomes. They
do not guarantee what will happen in
the life of an individual child. It is
necessary to develop policies and
programmes at the regional, national
and local levels to turn the wording of
the convention into reality."
Though India has an impressive legal
architecture, it has a weak infrastructure
and a poor "ability-to-dclivcr" record,
especially in err lain key areas. Moreover,
bureaucrats and politicians forget that
every bill which is passed by I’ailiamenl
and every policy that is formulated
directly af fects children. Neglecting of the
article on compulsory primary education
for every child is a case in point. Lack of
resources is often cited as the reason but
that is disputable.
Thus, the rights of thousands of
children in India arc constantly violated
(which, I will term as human rights
violations), in total contradiction to the
provisions of the UN convention. All
children arc not treated equally, and
millions (ace asymmetric opportunities
for survival and development. Torture,
ill-treatment in jails, and harassment of
children is commonplace. Children who
arc rescued by child traffickers languish
in juvenile homes and arc almost
forgotten by lhe outside world due to
red-lapism and indifference by the
aulhoiilics lhe nexus bchvccn polite
iiml < lnl<I 11.ill« l.< i •• < OlliIIHIV. Io giotv

15

in order to end
unchecked. Much less
discrimination
/is known about the
India calls its 144 million children its “resource potential”.
among children of
extent of deprivation
Of this, 60 million live in acute poverty; one-eighth die before
different religions.
and discrimination
Several gaps in
faced by street children
their fifth birthday; and one out of ten are either born
|>crs<>ivil laws exist.
and children Ittlonging
or
become
disabled.
Ihcsc include the
to scheduled castes and
length
of
tribes.
maintenance (Muslim law); custody
The condition of children and their values.
Articles 12 and 13 : Right to available to the mother (Hindu law) and;
rights in India vis-a-vis political
caste-related identity (Hindu law).
accountability especially of the State can Freedom of Expression
Article 16 : Right to Privacy
Freedom of expression is guaranteed
be gauged from the following Articles.
With the media explosion in India,
These Articles are rights wjiich should to all citizens under Article 19 (1). But
be available to all children as distinct age-old traditions have abridged this many conscious citizens are making
from the needs of children. It should, right especially for the girl-child. It is also documentaries on true and real-life
meaningless for those deprived of their incidents of child exploitation. The faces
however, be borne in mind that rights
and
names—
of '■the
J-------k~'•victims
w k" should be
do not often get enforced because the right to education. The enjoyment of the —
person/institution on whom the right to freedom of expression assumes blanked out. The rule that any reportage
correlative duty rests is not necessarily the right to education. Society and of juveniles or rape victims should
of the State. It can be the parent or those especially adults within families need to protect the name or address of the victims
who have the care and custody of the be accountable to guarantee a child this should be applied to law journals also.
Photographs of victims should not be
child. In such cases, tools of the law
."F1
published. The privacy of any child
which enforce rights need to be
India has the dubious distinction
| produced in court should be protected.
strengthened. Affirmative action by the
“ of having the world's third largest | The right to adequate housing was also
State is required.
I population of malnourished
, seen to be implied in every child's right
Article 2 : Equality and Non­
|_children; It has nearljr;7§ million {’ to privacy. This right is especially
discrimination
^ malnourished children below the^j1 applicable to children living in urban
Though the Constitution guarantees
slums who often have to share a oneequality of treatment to all citizens,
room hutment with siblings and parents.
icluding children, discrimination in
innrhinitio and
<latest _ UnitedNation. | Custodial homes run by the State are
opportunities
and social
social status
status persists.
persists. | Internationa]
Children s Emergency g
normally overcrowded. For girl children,
This is primarily due to social stigma and
oppression. For instance, both
Jt a
'w
/Vrniclc
7 ../icccss
Article 117
:.Access to
to iniormfltio
information
landlessness and low caste reinforce each ■
{ out that there arc nearly 40 to 50 I
and materials
other and children born in both sections
^million "missing girls"; It reflects i
This article is linked to the right to
are more likely not to go to school than J the unequal treatment that girls J
education which is now a fundamental
others. They are also more likely to suffer
■ receive in various walks of life, ■ right. It is of particular significance to
in times of caste-based violence. Above IJrcsulting in higher female infant I
all discriminated children, especially girl­
all, they are the least likely to have access
| mortality, greater malnutrition |
children and children suffering from
to their rights.
.among girls, .lower female j
, physical or economic disabilities.
Article 3 : Interest of the Child
• enrollments, and higher dropout a -It •is a part
‘ of
C..
. .
the Slate's commitment to
The CRC and the Constitution both Crates/..
I
provide equality of opportunity to all
recognise that in cases involving children,
t0 24 "ifflion Indian j ■
Article 25 Compulsory
the best interest of the child is universal I .
^,8r01'? ? ?? J « Primary education for all children is the
and must be the primary objective of the I '^o
1 (60 per cent of them girls) do not
r . I.........................
State and thejudiciary. However, in India, I ever get to school according to a I basis of all civil rights. However, even
adult citizens arc denied access to
there is a prejudice against the girl-child.
| recent report of the department of
information under many guises, such as
Centuries of oppression and male-biased
tradition show that the girl-child is
1 'he Off'c7'
'''T!'
_ J! Encr8yAct and thc Nudcar Encrgy Actalways discriminated against. This fact Hy
The intervention of the courts is needed
is exemplified in instances of mass
burials of babies in Rajasthan, all of right within the parameters set out in if one wants information. Thus to
protect the rights of children, a right to
whom were girls.
the Article.
Article 14 : Freedom of Thought, information act is required.
Article 7 : Guarantee a name and
Article 34 : Child TYafficking and
Conscience and Religion.
nationality to all children
Under Indian law, there is no serious
The rights of all citizens, particularly Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse and trafficking of
disability suffered by Indian children. those of minorities are guaranteed in Part
However, any disability caused by HI of the Constitution. Article 25 has children in India is on the rise,
custom or practice which affects girl­ gone a step further than the CRC Article Prostitution is rife. Dr Promilia Kapur's
children, orphans and other as it provides all citizens with the right book "Girl Child and Family Violence"
underprivileged lot heeds to be to propagate their religious beliefs. But, states that out of 200,000 prostitutes in
brothels
many personal laws arc not in the best “Bombay
‘
' 20,000 to 40,000 arc
discouraged.
Article 8 : The Right to Identity
interests of the child. The Law estimated Io Ik* underage, ('.iris are also
Initialed Into pioslilut ion iindri the guise
A.i I hr couiitry is nioving kiwitnh H Cummiriioii should review llir.te vis a
cnsteless.society, the convention if vis (he rightsof the child and recommend of customs like the "Pcvadasi" system
interpreted to include a caste identity, is a uniform code. The group also fell that which is mostly prevalent in Karnataka
inconsistent with the constitutional a uniform adoption law was necessary and Maharashtra. f>]ually shocking arc

1

1
3
*
5

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(S/sSsK-SrpS i

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16
1

I;

HumanscapF

FEBRUARY 1996

f
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3

II
^3

separatists. There are
instances
where
homeless children are
abducted, murdered and
their organs sold for
huge sums of money.
India is believed to
have the latgest number
of street children in the
world. Most of them
(10.74 to 100 million)
are employed for a
pittance in hazardous
factories at great
physical risk, tn most
cases, employers prefer
child labour as they
have to pay low wages
to them.
Conclusion
India calls its 144
million children its
"resource potential".
Out of this, 60 million
children live in acute
poverty; one-eighth
die before reaching
their fifth birthday;
one out of ten are
either born or become
disabled; and, lastly,
95 of them go blind
every day.
Any policy which
ignores the needs and
interests of children is
neglecting a substantial
number of citizens and
by doing so it is unlikely
to be effective anyway.
It is also rare that
children are consulted
or in any way involved
in the formulation of
policies which affects
them.
It is indeed ironical
that India should
approach the 21st
century with so much
potential to save lives,
COURTESY: CLAUDE SAUVAGEOTr while demonstrating
463 districts in India arc without the that very little will to do so. The best
Children s Law What prevails there is the interests of lhe child are universal,
Reformatory School s Act passed in lhev include the right to survival, to
1887 lhe Juvenile Justice Ac I of I'dfo lu.dlhy development and Io proIn lion
»s not considered adequate to guard horn abuse. But, what value do they
have in a country which turns its back
children s rights. Thus, torture and ill
treatment of children in police custody on hunger, exploitation, torture and
is commonplace. The conditions of rape’ The moot point is: "will it
juveniles in slate-run reformatories, change, and if so, when? Children's
especially in West Bengal and Delhi, arc lives cannot be put on hold while the
deplorable. In lhe strife-torn areas of government mulls over its obligations
lamimi and Kashmir, Assam, Punjab, towards them. Public commitments
Nagaland and Andhra Pradesh, there is have been written and ratified. Hence
a continuous pattern of "disapixraiantes" lhe need for positive action becomes,
//
the hands of the armed forcesand the imperative

-

•

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•’

Nothing to look forward to.

cases of young girls, not even in*their
teens, who arc sold off Io rich and old
men. Ironically, even lhe (ushxlians of
law arc involved in such shamclul at Is
Article 37, 39 and 40: Which
protect every child from torture,
exploitation and abuse:
The attempts of the government to
protect the human rights of children
under these Articles have been abysmal.
Parliament passed the Children s Law in
I960 for Union lerrilorics to safeguard
young prisoners against abuse and
cxploilalion. But, most stales have not
enacted it and nearly 40 percent_of the
FEBRUARY 1996

lUMANSCAPE'

17

NCERT study highlights plight of girl child
z

United News of India
NEW DELHI

rT_,he girl child is very often an "invisible"
JL worker, is the family drudge and misses out on schooling, according to a study.
Girl workers mostly remain invisible
because they are involved in family-based
production and do not work in factories or
farms outside homes, according to the
study undertaken by the National Council
of Educational Research and Training
(NCERT)In several states, girls are involved in
substantial
numbers in hazardous
industries like beedi-making, gempolishing,bangle-making, garments, cottonand groundnut pod shelling, hand
embroidery and grain-cleaning.
Exploitation of the female child is
' directly a result of exploitation of women.
Large sections of the girl population are
involved in full-time economic activities
and comprise half the number of main wor-

kers in rural areas.
The study termed as "ineffective" the
legislation on child labour as its implementationlacked seriousness in approach.
’: realities surrounding
Socio-economic
child workers, especially girls, in rural
areas needed to be better documented
and understood, it said,
In
the study said that
L. this
.1.1. context,
.
under-reporting was widespread in the
case of rural girl child workers whose
contribution went unnoticed. Most girls in
areas were engaged in sibling care.
cooking, cleaning, fetching water, fodder
and fuel, and animal care besides
assisting the family in sowing, transplan­
ting, weeding, harvesting and carrying
goods. Girls share 20 per cent of the agri­
cultural work undertaken by women
while both women and girls account for
more than 50 per cent of the totril house­
holdenergy, the study said.
According to the 1981 census, there
were 23.59 million working children in

India. The child labour participation rate
in rural areas was 6.3 per cent and in
__
urban areas, 2.5 per cent.
A total of 8.35 per cent of the girls under
the age of 14 were main workers, 9.35 per
cent were marginal workers. About eight
per cent of the male child workers and
seven per cent of female child workers
under the age of 14 were engaged in
household and non-household industries,
_„_1_2__.
according to available statistics.
In urban areas, a higher percentage of
boys was engagedi in non-household
industries. Nearly half the female child
workers in urban areas were engagedin
household industries.
A disturbing trend noted in the study
was the increase in female child labour
during the period. 1971-81, and a decrease
for boy workers.
The percentage increase of female workers
under the age of 14 years during this
i_„_
J.:.
period was 33.23 per cent. The corresponding percentage for males in this age

group decreased by 3.51 per cent.
Poverty
pushes
children
into
employment when they should be in
school. In poor households, the burden of
poverty and male unemployment has
shifted onto women and girls who often
worked to keep sons and brothers in
school.
In the absence of primary
. and middle
schools in the village and poor roads and
rural
ttransport,
«.
.. -girls are either shut out of
the educational system totally or drop out
soon after joining, the study said.
It is pointed out that unless rural house­
holds are brought above the poverty line
it would be unrealistic to think of univer­
sal retention of girls in school.
Besides, the economic value of children
as income earners leads to higher fertility
rates and a larger family size in rural areas.
If working girls are to be drawi} to
schools,. they. should be assured of an education which would help them in the futu;
re both' as individual
1
1 and
- >as wage earners.
- -

J
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5

ICEF SURVEY

.

^'LbHSUKVbY

n

■

Gender discrimination against female infants
BOMBAY, March 8. — Every
vear aboul 15 million girls are
born in India. Eive million of
lheni do not survive Io see their
I5lh birthday. A third of these
dr.ilbs lake place in the first year
ol their life, according Io a recent
siirvev conducted bv UNICEF,
n •ports UNI
I'.vfi v sixth female child death
is dur Io gender discrimination,
the survey said.
Gender-based inequities per­
meate almost every aspect of the
growing girl's social and cultural
environment. For an average girl
in India, the privations of pov­
erty an' significantly aggravated
by value systems, norms and
mores, which define, and not
inlretpienllv. disparage the role
ol women.
Journalistic, accounts and
some research studies show that
female infanticide and female
loelit ide appear Io he having a
growing negative' inBuence on
the sex ratio statistics in a
number of communities and
geographical areas. If the preand post-birth deselection of
females is not controlled in time.

significant demographic imba­
lances will result, the survey
warns.
Girls are at a greater risk of
dying during infancy in the
States of Bihar, Gujarat. Har­
yana. Himachal Pradesh. Jammu
and Kashmir. Karnataka, Mad­
hya Pradesh. Punjab, Rajasthan,
Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
Overall mortality rates have
declined raising the life expec­
tancy for both male and females.
At birth, female life expectancy
is 57.4 years. However, major
gain in life expectancy has
accrued Io the older age
groups.
A girl born in U.P. can expect
to live for 54 years — 20 years
less than her peer in Kerala,
whose life expectancy is 74
years. Thirteen per cent of
female deaths before the age of
24 years are due to complica­
tions of pregnancy and child
birth.
The large number of deaths in
(*arlv childhood account for the
inequal sex ratio. Malnutrition is
a significant underlying factor in
manv of these deaths. There is

abundant research evidence to
indicate that gender biases in the
allocation of food and health are
widely prevalent, the survey
said.
According to anthropological
studies.
girl
infants
are
breast-fed less frequently and for
shorter durations, than the boys,
a situation that may be exacer­
bated among the poor for social
and economic reasons.
A study in Tamil Nadu found
that male children are breast-fed
for five months longer than
female children on the average,
and children in landed families
are breast-fed almost ten months
more thanTemale children. An­
other study in Kerala, even
where there is no gender bias in
the duration of breast-feeding, it
is commonly believed that baby
girls need less breast milk than
baby boys.
Discrimination against female
children in the quality of food
given has also been shown in
cultures as diverse as those of
Tamil Nadu and Punjab. Male
children receive larger quanti­
ties of cereals, fats, milk and

sugar than females.
The findings of a 12-year-long
weight-for-age
surveillance
study of children under five, by
the
Institute
of
Health
Management.
Pachod.
in
Maharashtra, showed that dis­
parity in nutritional status is
highest in the age group of one
to three. The Pachod study
showed that the percentage of
severely malnourished female
children is consistently two to
three times higher than that for
bovs. It was observed that a
higher percentage of girls suffer
from severe malnutrition in
every age interval.
Information on differentials
between males and females by
age. supplied by several small
household
dietary
intake
studies, show that nutritional
“equity" is lower in north India
and imroves towards the
south.
While in Rajasthan all child­
ren under-12 and adult women
are deprived of their fair nutri­
tional “shares", relative to adult
males, as well as to the applic­
able recommended daily allow-

ances, the gender diffemtials
disappear among adults in
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil
Nadu. However, even in these
areas, pre-school girls tend to be
worse off than boys, and some
gender
differentials
occur
seasonally.
Female literacy varies from
8% in Barmer district of Ra­
jasthan to 94% in Kottayam
district of Kerala.
High female literacy States
(above 50%) such as Kerala.
Goa, Pondicherry' and Laksha­
dweep. have by and large uni­
verse ized primary enrolment
among girls.
In States with medium female
literacy rates (40-50%) enrol­
ment is satisfactory' at the pri­
mary level. But there is a steep
fall in upper primary level.
In U.P.. Rajasthan, M.P. and
bihar. accounting for 40% of the
country's population, the female
literacy rate is only 20-40%.
The survey concludes that it is
essential to encourage participa­
tion of girls at all levels of
human development activity to
enhance their self-confidence.

Deprived’ of a son, woman kills 7th daughter
---------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

................... ——'

»i

“

FROM MEHER MURSHED

Jirangachha (South 24-Parganas),
Sept. 18: Palani Ghosh’s four
daughters, aged between
one and four, come home at twi­
light with their cows and fall
asleep: they do not know
that their mother has been
arrested for murdering their oneday-old sister.
Nor do they understand
why their father has run away
from home.
Palani gave birth to her sev­
enth daughter on Friday and
within hours throttled her to
death. The little body was
thrown into a nearby pond.
The next day villagers found
the body floating and returned it
to the Ghosh family. Palani’s
husband, Santosh, then buried
the baby.
Villagers, however, suspected
foul play and reported the mat­
ter to the Bhangore police sta­
tion. Palani and her eldest
daughter, Suchitra, 16, were
arrested, while Santosh managed
to escape.
The two accused were today Four of Palani’s daughters, aged between one and four, are left to fend for themselves. A Telegraph
produced at the Alipore sub-divi­ picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury
sional magistrate’s court and
remanded to jail custody till no one to look after them. No return in the evening. They cry not afford two square meals a
day. I have a family too,” says
one to give them food and no one themselves to sleep.
September 29.
“The girls are young and need Lalita Ghosh, who stays next
Today, Palani’s four daugh­ to reassure them as night falls.
ters, Gayatri, six, Deepali, four, They take their four cows and nourishment. I give them muri door.”
Villagers said the four little
Sila, two, and Gayatri, one, have two calves to the fields and and rice often and on, but I can-

L

.

J

.

girls do not miss their parents
during the day but as darkness
descends, fear and lonliness
come knocking.
“I can hear their whimpers
and cries intermittently. I check
on them ever)' two hours through
the night. As a mother, how can I
turn a deaf ear,” Lalita said.
The villagers of Jirangachha
said they have been chipping in
to look after the four girls, but do
not know how long they will be
able to part with food. "We, after
all, are also poor,” they said.
According to them, Santosh
and Palani are extremely poor.
They have no land to call
their own. Only four cows, which
are not very productive, to fall
back on.
Santosh does not work
because he is suffering from
tuberculosis. He has one son
from an earlier marriage, who
works in a sweet shop at
Bishnupur.
Villagers said the couple
has six daughters. The four left
behind in the village, Suchitra,
who has been
arrested,
and another, Sumitra, 10.
Sumitra works as a maid in
an adjoining village.

With six daughters, Palani
and Santosh longed for a son,
who they thought would alleviate
their abject poverty.
“Palani would tell me that

,

e-

j.

...

she was finding it ven’ difficult
to make both ends meet, but
if she had a son. all their troubles
would be over,” Lalita said.
Villagers pointed out that
Palani was also under a lot of
mental
pressure because
Suchitra recently had an
abortion.
“The girl had an affair, but
her lover refused to marry her.
There was no alternative and
hence Suchitra had to abort. But,
in villages, there is always a
stigma attached to an abortion
and Palani had not come to terms
with it,” Mujib Sheikh said.
Villagers said Palani had con­
fessed to killing her one-day-old
daughter. Though they did not
condone the act, they sympa­
thised with Palani.

“She had six daughters to
bring up. six daughters to marry
off. Life was a drudgery. They
had pinned all their hopes on
a son. I guess the sight of another
daughter made Palani lose
her mental balance. She must
have killed die baby on the spur
of the moment,” Mujib added.
Villagers said this was the
first case of female infanticide in
Jirangachha.
And while they understood
Palani’s plight, they were over­
come with pit)- when they looked
at her four helpless daughters.

zD(

4 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

( (

------------------

World congress addresses spiralling child sex abuse
Jon Henley in Stockholm
T1 HE numbers are estimates, but
■ if they even approach the truth
they are horrifying. No part of the
world, from the backstreets of Latin
America to the ritziest European
capital, can claim to be immune.
There are 70,000 child prosdtutes
in Zambia, 200,000 in Thailand,
40,000 in Venezuela, 25,000 in the
Dominican Republic and 500,000 in
India. In America, between 100,000
and 300,000 children are sexually
exploited through prostitution and
pornography every year.
In eastern Europe the situation is
acute: even Estonia, with a popula­
tion a quarter the size of London’s,
employs 1,500 minors, some as
young as 10, in its sex industry.
Delegates from 122 countries
gathered in Stockholm last week for
the first World Congress on the
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children. The research they
brought with them revealed the
staggering scale of child sex abuse.
“The commercial sexual exploita­
tion of children has become a
global, multi-billion-dollar industry,”
Carol Bellamy, executive director of

Unicef, said in her opening speech European countries in failing to
inserted in all airline tickets to Asia.
to the conference.
pass legislation outlawing the pos­
But there is a limit to what they
Experts say many factors lie be­ session of child pornography.
achieve in the West. Campaigners
hind the recent global rise of child
During the past three years about agree that pressure from Western '
sex abuse. In some societies, the
160 men, mainly from America. Ger­ lour operators on hotels and tourist |
drive towards Western-style con­ many, Australia, Britain, Sweden
sumerism has combined, disas­ and Switzerland, have been arrested providers is probably the only way j
trously, with traditional beliefs that in Asia lor sex offences against chil­ to slop the flow of child sex tourists j
Many cite a contract that the !
young children, particularly girls, dren. Sex tourism is no longer pro­
are property to be traded — families moted as explicitly as it was in the human rights group Ferre des '
simply sell their children for some­ 1970s and 1980s, but men seeking Homines signed with 12 tour opera- 1
tors in Germany, obliging them to
thing they want more.
sex with children still go in their
Fear of Aids increasingly leads thousands to Asia, kitin America cancel contracts with foreign hotels
which allow child prostitution on
men to seek ever younger prosti­ and, more recently, eastern Europe.
tlieir premises.
tutes, in the mistaken belief that
Campaigners say the travel indus­
“That kind of thing works, but we
they are safer. And modern techno­ try must accept its share of respon­
logy has made it easier for paedo­ sibility. Some companies have taken need far more of it,” said Lilia
philes to produce and exchange* steps to educate tourists. Indone­ Arvelo de Fiol, a social worker in
child pornography, and far more dif­ sia s Garuda Airlines distributes a Venezuela. “You can’t talk to local
hotel owners about ethics, they
ficult for police to stop them.
code of ethics for tourists on flights don’t have any.”
The five-day congress, sponsored from Australia and New Zealand.
by the Swedish government in co­ 1 he German charter airline Condor • I aking the lead in a nationwide
operation with Unicef and non­ shows passengers travelling to Sri push to enact tougher sex-crime
governmental groups, sought to Lanka a film which includes a seg­ laws in America, California is set to
increase co-operation and harmonise ment on the wretched lives of the pass a measure requiring “chemical
castration” of repeat child molesters.
legislation.
“beach boys" who are often the tar­
'Die measure mandates that any
Australia has led the way in extra­ get of foreign paedophiles.
child-sex offender convicted twice
territorial legislation which allows
A few national travel agents' asso­
its nationals to be prosecuted at ciations are co-operating in cam­ be periodically injected, after rt/
lease from prison, with a drug that
home for sex crimes against chil­ paigns: Swedish Save the Children
dren committed abroad. By con­ helped tour operators to produce a inhibits sex drive — unless/the
voluntarily submits to
trast, Sweden is almost alone among warning postcard which is now offender
surgical castration.
< /

by
ARTICLE |

SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND THE GIRL CHILD
UPALADEVl

4-year old Anuradha was sleeping in her jhuggi when
she was picked up by two men. They took her to their
house in Daya Basti in Delhi, where they sat down for
drinking. After a drink or two, they forced liquor down
the child’s throat and began thrashing her with an iron
rod. When the girl fell unconscious, they pounced on
her. She died during the gang-rape. It was a case which
should have sent shock-waves through every echelon
of a civilised society. It did not. For the police, it was just
another crime — a minor one for that which gets
adjourned every day and subsequently forgotten. And,
for an equally indifferent public, it was a news which
evoked momentary horror and sympathy and nothing
else.

t

The UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child, which
was ratified by India in 1992, emphasises that the child,
by reason of his/her physical and mental immaturity
needs special safeguards and care, including appropri­
ate legal protection before as well as after birth. Article
34 of the same Convention states that “State Parties"
should undertake to protect the child from all forms of
sexual exploitation and sexual abuse". International
policy and media attention is also focussing renewed
attention on the sexual harassment of children, espe­
cially the girl child. However, sexual abuse and traffick­
ing of the girl child in India is frequent and on the rise and
as recent newspaper articles, magazines and films
have served to lift the curtain on the underworld of
sexual exploitation of young children, particularly the
girl child, we are faced with one of the most poignant
and vexing problems in the country today.
A study conducted by the Tata Institute of Social
Sciences (Bombay) in 1985, with a majority of respon­
dents being between 20 and 24 years of age belonging
to middle economic strata in Bombay, found that one
outof every three girls and one out of every 10 boys had
been sexually abused in childhood. According to the
“Crime in India (1991)”. a publication of the National

Crime Records Bureau, cases of sexual acts against
children below 10 years of age showed an alarming
increase of more than 178% in 1991. with the year
recording 1,099 cases as compared to 394 in 1990.

Reports show that there is shocking increase in rape
and abuse on children. Ironically, even the custodians
of law and family are involved in such horrendous acts.
Rape-, h Bangladeshi minor girl has accused two police­
men from two North-East Delhi of gangraping her along
with two other persons thrice in the second week of
June 1993. Neither of the two policemen have been

identified.
Six policemen from Pondicherry had gang-raped a 17
year-old girl who went to the local police station to lodge
a complaint, she was illegally kept in detention by the
Tripuati police, Tamil Nadu.

A 14-year-old tribal girl was gang-raped by forestguards in Sonebhadra district of Uttar Pradesh in early
April 1992.

In Keshavpuram, Delhi, in a local urban school, the
teacher Kamruddin, was arrested by the police for
raping 16 minor girls, all in the age group of 5-14 years
who came to him for studying. Most of the parents
preferred to keep quiet, fearing the social stigma which

will be attached to their daughters name if the story was
out.

A16-year-old girl had alleged that she was abducted by
an Assistant Police Inspector, Ashok Sitaram Gaikwad.
in Bombay, and was sexually molested while in his
private custody.
District Superintendent of Police, Oommen Koshi had
suspended two policemen attached to the Kondotty
Police Station, Malapuram, for their alleged involve­
ment in the sexual harassment of a school girl, who was
later rescued from a hotel in Bombay.

The cases mentioned above are just a few of hundred
related to sexual harassment and abuse of the girl-child
in India. A Report issued by the National Commission
For Women states that the reported incidence of rape
cases jn the country had increased from 9,752 in 1989
to 10.068 in 1990. Of the total cases of rape during
1990. the girls below the age of 10 were victims in 394
cases. The number of victims in the age group 10 to 16
was 2.105 In Delhi, the cases had increasea from 152
WOMEN'S LINK

18

in 1989 to 177 in 1990.
Prostitution-. Rape is not the only form of sexual abuse
of the girl child in India. Prostitution is rife. A Thialand­
based organisation “End Child Prostitution In Asian
Tourism" states that there are about 300,000 child
prostitutes in India alone.
More recently, “The Asian Age" dated 24 MArch 1995,
quoted the total number of child prostitutes in India at an
estimated 400,000. In GB Road, Delhi’s prime red-light
area, as many as 50 young girls line the grimy roads
every evening. Nearly all of them hail from Bangladesh
and Nepal and have been coerced into prostitution,
some brought to Delhi by conmen, lured into fake
marriages, raped and forced into submission. All of
them have become mothers at a very young age and
are in the flesh trade so that they can feed their little
ones. Since cash is a prime concern, any price will do.
Studies compiled in a new book, “Girl Child and Family
Violence" by Dr. Promilia Kapur, states that out of
200,000 prostitutes residing in Bombay’s brothels alone,
between 20,000 to 40,000 are estimated to be under­
age girls. Of the total number of prostitutes, about 20
percent are minors and are found to be initiated into the
trade at the tender age of 12 to 13 years.

However much we would like to believe, poverty is not
the root cause of prostitution in India. It is coupled with
the existing socio-religious status of women, the coma­
tose attitude of the general public and the prevailing
caste structure. Moreover, the majority of young girls
are forced into this practice by unscrupulous people,
poor parents and guardians and other social pressures.

•

A fundamental reason why the trafficking of the girl­
child as a marketable commodity is gaining momentum
is due to the increasing demand for younger girls by
customers in brothels. The fear of AIDS is turning men
to younger prostitutes who they feel would not be
exposed to the virus, as yet. Another myth that has
served to increase the demand for young girls is that
men with venereal disease can be cured by having sex
with a virgin.
The constant migration of men seeking employment in
big cities like Delhi and Bombay has propelled the trade
to greater heights. 80 percent of child prostitutes are
found in five major metros - Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta,
Madras and Bangalore.

The laws which seek to end prostitution and protect
children are so ineffective, that they might as well be
non-existent. The Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1986,
APRIL-JUNE

prescribes stringent action against those who procure,
induce or take a child to prostitution. These laws are
effective only on paper. In reality, whenever a brothel is
raided, it is the prostitutes who land up in jail, while the
real culprits -- the clients and brothel owners -- go scotfree.

The Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, has elaborate provi­
sions for the care, treatment, education, development
and rehabilitation of children rescued from those “pro­
curing, inducing or taking persons for the sake of
prostitution". The Act also states that these children
ought to be placed with a fit person or institution, failing
which they could be brought back into the juvenile
homes. However, rescue and rehabilitation of child
prostitutes in our country is negligible due to the apa­
thetic attitude of the police.

Pimps and racketeers pose as parents, claim the
rescued girl and before they know it, they find them­
selves back in their hell-holes. The girl lives practically
in a state of slavery in the flesh trade, until they are
successfully rehabilitated. Not all of them are as lucky
though. For the majority, the ordeal goes on and the fall­
out usually includes the contaction of Sexually Trans­
mitted Diseases or the AIDS virus. The only contact
with the outside world they have is through the brothel­
owner. This grim reality of the extreme vulnerability of
the girl-child calls for greater attention and effective
response from the State and the society.
Social Customs and Traditions In India, girls are also
initiated into the flesh trade through age-old customs
and traditions. In the Indian State of Karnataka, for
instance, a. unique ritual prevails by the name of
“Devadasi Pratha" in which innocent girls from poor and
illiterate families, mostly illegitimate by birth, are com­
pelled to lead a life of sexual slavery and drudgery. A girl
is dedicated to the Goddess Yellamma. She is disrobed
of her honour by the priest and initiated into the oldest
profession of the world. The next day, she is given to the
highest bidder, who would pay anything between
Rs.4,000 to Rs. 10,000 to keep her for as many months
or years as he wants. She is finally sold in the market
from where she might end up in one of the many redlight areas. Although the Karnataka Government slapped
a ban on the Devadasi system a number of years ago,
the evil practice continues on the sly in parts of north
Karnataka. On an average, 5,000 women are initiated
annually as Devdasis in eight districts of Maharashtra
and Karnataka. OF these, 88 percent are dedicated
before they are ten years old. According to a study

19

conducted in the late 80's, the custom accounts for 50%
of prostitutes in southern Maharashtra, 15% in Bombay
and 10% in Delhi and other cities.
The Devdasi Prohibition Act, 1982, is an Act merely
adorning the law books. According to this Act, the
abettors are liableto be fined Rs.5,000 and undergo five
years imprisonment. But, the damning part is that ever
since 1984, when the law was first enacted, not a single
case has been booked by the Karnataka police who
keep a regular vigil on the Yellamma Hill during the
period of dedication!
As we approach the 21st century, nothing can look
more degrading or demeaning than “price tags for
young girls". Can society sit back and debate whether
prostitution needs to be legalised or not while the girl
child gets bartered and sold for sexual exploitation?

Sale of the Girl Chilcf Equally shocking are cases of
young girls, not even in their teens, who are sold off to
rich and old men from the Middle-East. The most
volatile of these cases was that of 11 -year-old Ameena.
who was sold off to a 60-year-old man from Arabia,
“Sheikh” Yahya-al-Sagish. The way the Juvenile Jus­
tice Board has dealt with the problem shows that it is
incapable of handling children’s problems sensitively.
Though she has already spent several months in a
children’s home, the Board ordered that she be sent to
another remand home in Hyderabad, that too, for three
years. Even a criminal court would not send an accused
to three years’ custody ordinarily. And look, the Board
supposed to give juvenile justice is sending her into
custody for three years for a crime committed by others.
However, if this case had gone unnoticed, the case of
14-year-old Ruksana, married to a 44-year-old Abu
Dhabian, Mushaida Hamid in Bombay and of the sale
and forced marriage of 16-year-old Kaniz Begum of
Hyderabad to an Arab National, would not have sur­
faced at all. It is estimated that about 8,000 child brides
during the last one decade have been sold off in such
marriages.
An Overview. Legal experts and social activists believe
that the only way to stop this increasing malaise is a
strong and deterrent law. The law, at present, does not
protect the interest of the victim. The law begins to falter
in the beginning itself. The police starts investigation
only after an FIR is registered and if there is no
information, there is no question of any investigation.
This gives ample arbitrary powers to the police. And,

what they can do and not do is proved beyond doubt in
the cases stated above.
The accounts above bear testimony to the fact that the
largest democracy in the world presents a sorry picture
in so far as the rights of the girl-child are concerned.
There seems to be little political or social will to stamp
out the horrific abuse of the girl child. One reason could
be that child-prostitution has become a multi-million
rupee industry, and there are many people who make
a lot of money - the procuring agent, the pimp, the
brothel owner, the landlord and the police. As a result
something truly awful is happening: by design, by wilful
premeditation, by conduct unbecoming in a civilized
society, we are actually choosing children as targets. It
would seem - as the evidence suggests -- that there is
an aggravated moral disintegration underway, that we
are assaulting children more than ever before.

The best interests of child are universal. They include
the right to survival, to healthy development and to
protection from abuse. These rights are agreed upon
internationally. But, what value do they have in a
country which turns its back to hunger and want, to
torture, rape, and the exploitation of children?
The huge question mark is: Will it change, and if so,
when? Children's lives cannot be put on edge with the
adult society staying away from its obligations towards
them. Public commitments have been written and en­
dorsed. The call of the time is to act now.

REFERENCES
1)

“The Asian Age", 24 March, 1995.

2)

Joardar Biswanath, “Prostitution in Historical and
Modern Perspectives”, Inter-India Publication, New
Delhi, 1984.

3)

Jeyasing Dr. J.V., “Children in Prostituion” - Pa­
pers presented at the seminar on “Women and
Crime”, Velore, MArch 1984.

4)

Rozario Sr. M. Rita, “Trafficking in Women and
Children in India", Uppal Publishing House, New
Delhi, 1988.

5)

Sikka K.D., “Sale of Sex: Indian Perspectives and
Realities", Department of Criminology and Cor­
rectional Administration, Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, Deonar, 22 September, 1983.

6)

United Nations, "U.N. Convention on the Rights of
the Child". 1988

Upala Devi is working as a Programme Officer in ANWIC

20

WOMEN’S LINK

I

Righte’ body comes to aid of tortured girl
i >>—

FRnu rviArcmv VA-env
FROM CHANDAN NANDY

, q

Jamshedpur, March 22: A 14-year-old girl. Baby Kumhar,
who was tortured and scarred for life by her employers
two-and-a half years ago, is trying to come to terms with
her “disfigured body” after the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) took cognizance of her case last
month.
Baby was employed as a maid by Rajendra Prasad,
senior personnel officer of Indian Petrochemical
Company Limited, and his wife, Knshnalata, who took
the Harijan girl from Adityapur in West Singbhhum to
their home at Nagothane in Maharashtra in January

»s«a

w
!■

*£/•.•.
■i

At first it was okay. But when she (Krishnalata)
became pregnant, the man would make indecent
advances,” Baby said, recollecting the nightmare that fol­
lowed. For day's on end, she was raped continuously by
Prasad but she kept silent as he always threatened her ■':.. JS’'
with dire consequences. However, unable to bear the
shame and thinking that the sexual abuse would stop,
'^:A.
Baby' narrated everything to Prasad’s wife.
j-f.'-f* *
•
»'!
She was wrong. Prasad’s wife refused to believe the
; girL She stopped giving her meals and even her salary of
Rs 150 per month. The sexual assaults continued and
»
i whenever she complained, she would be beaten up and
I kicked.
!
Soon the torture took on horrific proportions.
Krishnalata would rip and slash Baby’s skin with Baby Kumhar Scarred for life
Prasad’s shaving blade, inflicting deep cuts each time. head hung in shame but trying lim'd not to cry.
‘Instead of any ointment, the couple forcibly applied a
According to Baby’s aunt, Lata, “One day, when Baby
mixture of red chilli powder and salt on my injuries.
reported to Krishnalata that Prasad had raped her bru­
They would beat me if I shrieked in pain,” Baby, who tally, the woman slashed her vagina with a sharp blade.
finds it difficult to relate her experience, said with her On another occasion, she nibbed hot iron over Baby’s pri-

IS i
-3Hi^

vate parts. Lata also described how Prasad and his wife
forced open Baby’s mouth, ripped her lips and ran the
sharp edge of a blade over her tongue.” The inhuman
condition in which Baby lived was noticed by Prasad’s
mother during one of her visits to Nagothane and she
brought her back to Adityapur.
Although the matter was reported to the Aditvapur
pobce, Baby’s complaint was not registered. “The police
had been influenced because Krishnalata’s brother was
the officer-in-charge of Bistupur police station in
Jamshedpur,” Lata claimed.
The Adityapur police finally lodged a complaint after
the matter was reported to the West Singhbhum superin­
tendent of police. The case was transferred to Nagothane
pohce station in Raigadh district. But by that time
^asad and his wife had managed to obtain anticipatory

Worse still, Baby has not received even half the
amount of Rs 5,000 promised to her by Mr Malkhan
bmgh, an MLA from Ichhagarh in West Singhbhum.
She got only Rs 1,000 but that was exhausted on her
mu^-bllls’n
13
castin8 doubts over the “socalled interest shown by women’s organisations and
politicians.
On February 22 this year, Mr Shivaji Singh, a superin.
indent of pohce from NHRC, visited Baby’s one-room
thatched house at Majhitolla bustee in Adityapur and
encouraged her into joining the school next door.
Now 14 years old, Baby has begun showing marks of
adolescence. She applies nail polish, wears bangles and
even sports payal on her ankles. But ah this would not
have been possible without the support and encourageLa^ ^r°m
materna^ uncle, Suresh Barik, and aunt.

i

T

AVEN

GIRLS

L, Thara Bai
*lf ux- den r~
Kjve Ob /casLone bcrJ
is cli&halV •8

| i he problem of female infanticide is to
t- • be considered seriously by all those who
are concerned with society.

Usilampatti taluk in the district of Madurai is
declared recently as a backward district by the
government. Usilampatti taluk constitutes 92
villages consisting of 276,201 population. This
educationally backward area has 32.51% female
literacy when compared to 56.48% male
literacy. 48.8% of people live below the poverty
line. Female infanticide is seen mostly among
Kallars, who belong to the lower classes. Kallars
are a community well known for their bravery
and mental strength. This is especially true
with Kallar women. The community’s dowry'
practices are oppressive. Even when a woman
dies, the husband and his relatives wait till the
woman's brothers come and adorn her with new
clothes.

*

V'
///,

Let me briefly explain here the myths
surrounding female infanticide in Usilampatti
among the Piramalaikallars. In the First place,
female infanticide is considered as women s
problem. Secondly, this problem is projected
as a traditional one and thirdly, it is viewed
as a class problem. In Usilampatti area as many
as 6000 female infanticides occurred during
sixties and seventies. In the last decade there
are purposive awareness programmes and as a
r-sult of this, th#* occurrence of female
nticide has s’
’ecreasing.
'’ properly, no:
I babies are r
they
vacated or permitted to enjoy childhood.

Thangasar
who ga1-

Case Study
’ ’ ’okkamma an* a happy rrniple
ghter R.‘
a mat
to

Rasu in 1985. lliough they had no property,
they were leading a happy life on daily wages.
Rasu's parents were looking forward to a grand
son but unfortunately Rakku give binh to a
girl child. However, the parents and the grand
parents looked after the child hoping that the
girl will bring prosperity through a male child.
Soon Rakku became pregnant once again. As
soon as her in-laws knew that she was pregnant,
there was tremendous pressure on her to beget
a male child. Rakku was told that if she gave
birth to a girl child, the whole family will be
ruined. She was ill-treated during her pregnancy
and was terribly demoralised. Rakku gave birth
to a baby girl. Immediately after delivery, the
child was killed in the presence of the mother.
Rakku was grief-stricken. However, even as
she was trying to cope with her loss, the blame
of killing the baby was shifted on to Rakku.

frl-chLd oT
even
Scmi'i'C.

z
A

■U p

Conclusion
The case study throws light on the social
attitudes towards women in the Indian society.
The woman who is blamed for this gruesome
phenomenon is only a product of a larger
patriarchal ideology. Female infanticide is a
malady, for which the entire society is
responsible.
g

fharabai is a professor. Drpt of Sociology. Madurai
Kamaraj Urnver’"- ^he interacts closely with the
people of Usila^i
^as
extensive research
on the issue of female infanticide Her wvrk includes
■s on women A girl children

•Expressions of women from 10 villages in Usilampatti
taluk in Tamil Nadu which record the highest rate of
fem1’- '"filicide in ’ ' • (From the v"“d
b'
v’urup • ‘
-n)

oS/
cP

voon’l pub ket In +kc
icJiej^ne • A atvl <5 Lak-SLmt, if ^<5 put"
nevcnf
her -H'xre 3 F li inJUSptcioLuS
Knouj uahal- ^-anperkS -jokerKill her »kjc aVa |e6$ KJorncd •

55

I

pin

Wcz^.. 4^0 PAMGWAYA-f^
A LOOK ACROSS THE COUNTRY
1 passionately desire the utmost freedom for our women... women must have votes and an
qual legal status. But the problem does not end there. It only commences at the point where
women begin to affect the political deliberations of the nation.
P

z------- . •——---------------------------- --------------- --------- ~ Mahatma Gandhi
the tnrdr
^^vcr,uent °fthc 'Ural poor is an aim which could possibly be realised throng)^
inti 1
°nS0{
f°r W0"'Cn n"d 1/3 f°r sclMd
nnd scheduled tribes
forth d
Ra’ I"st‘t"“ons- Poor peoples concerns specific to their role could bring
forth demands that are caste oriented, patriarchial and have the character of a vested interest
spite of these drawbacks, we have to foige ahead in promoting democratic functioning '

I tide 40 of the Indian Constitution provides for
'hhc establishment of panchayals in the country.

to-day basis. Development activities have been per­

Since it is part of the Directive Principles of Stale

ceived in a holistic manner, at least on paper. (See
South Link on Panchayati Raj.)

-/ A1

_

Policy, it was not legally enforceable so far. The 73rd

1 he provision of 33 per cent reservations for

Amendment to the constitution, in 1992, makes the
establishment
i

I

of panchayati

raj

institutions

women invokes mixed reactions. Most feminists fear
that reservations per se will weaken the women's

(PRI)

compulsory ahd legal. It is a step towards political
decentralisation, and alternatively, to strengthen

movement. Without tackling social issues first such as

propei ty rights, women's position in religion, advo­
cacy for uniform laws, elimination of dowry, and

people's decision-making powers. Elections once in
five years, one-third representation of women, reser­
8

economic independence, piece-meal efforts such as

vation of seats for scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes is mandatory. I he village panchayats, as out­

reservations will only disempower women in
terr^
run. I here is an immediate need to weed out

lined in the eleventh schedule of the constitution, will

altitudinal, social and structural obstacles to womans

prepare 'area plans for economic development and

political participation. Apart from

social justice'. PRI activities have been broadly classi­
fied into 8 categories, viz., development of the

-v>£

into cognizance the might of the State and its power
to disarm women as demonstrated in (he recent

economy, agriculture, land, education, social, cultural,
health and infrastructural facilities. The PRI is sup­

incidents of physical

abuse at Muzaffarnagar and

Mussoorie. I low do we come to a consensus on the

posed to be accountable to the local people on a day-

means to achieve political power?

17

SouthLink
J-.

PROFILE OF WOMEN PANCHAYAT LEADERS
There are outstanding representatives of women who are assertive and have leadership qualities. Some

examples are as follows :
In Karnataka : Two of the women mandal pradhans in Madapura Mandal Panchayat (Krishnarajpet Talukj
Mandya District) and Kolkonda Mandal Panchayat (Sadam Taluk, Gulbarga District) had
contested and won in general constituencies against male candidates. They also served
full five-year term as pradhans.
In Maharashtra: Women panchayat in Metikheda, Kalamb tehsil of Yevatmal is an mstance of success. Maya
Wenkhede, the village sarpanch who met with resistance initially has suspended 2 gram
sevaks on charges of corruption; has mobilised social schemes like addition of rooms to
the village school, created a revolving fund for the benefit of women, and has half-built

an auditorium for village social functions.
In Maharashtra; In Vitner village of Chopada tehsil, Jalgaon district, women have been given property

rights by its all-women panchayat.
In Maharashtra : Sarpanch Ushabai of Nimgaon Boghi village in Ahmednagar district is also an elected zilla
parishad member. Her political role has enabled her to identify and implement zillaparishad schemes for gram panchayats, and take on effective resource mobilisation scheme
for village purposes as well. She advocates male representation in Bal Kalyan Samitees
and Samaj Kalyan Samitees, and alternatively, female membership in construction of road ,
repairs committees- thus breaking the stereotyped notions of the roles of women and men
in society. Her efforts have been fruitful as can be seen in the provision of water tanks
to Harijans, smokeless chullahs, a room for the balwadi, a community T.V., a pucca road,

and the continuing struggle against alcoholism.
In Maharashtra: Women's panchayats exist in Ralegan Siddi in Parner tehsil of Ahmednagar district, and
Salod of Amravati district.'
In West Bengal: In Bankura district,, the initiator of the process of women's effective participation in gram
panchayats, it was observed that women rarely attended meetings, and seemed to be
unaware of the extent of their involvement in PRIs. The nominated female members had
little or no interest in the welfare of the people since they were not accountable to any
electorate. Most elected women were unaware of their roles and functions in the panchayat
samiti since there was no process to familiarise the elected women members with the

In Karnataka

In Karnataka

panchayat institutions.
-- j -r women ex-representatives did not even know the
: <.uauaui\u.<uM.
Chandakawadi Mandal 7Panchayat,
pohticaTparty which they "represented" when they contested the elections. One had to
consult mandal records to find out the political party to which they "belonged". They freely
admitted that during their tenure as representatives, they hardly had anything to do in
tl-ie mandal except to put tlieir thumb impression at each mandal meeting.
: It is feared that with mandals coming under the administrators, virtually all the wornc
and the scheduled caste ex-mandal members have no role left, and even their participation

in the gram sabhas is becoming non-existent.
at two levels — one, at the level of representation, and
second is the actual effectiveness of such representa­
tion. Since the first has been tackled, to a great extent,
by the central government, the second is the task of the
state government, the bureaucracy, the efforts of the
voluntary sectors, the village PRIs and the local people,
the interaction of all these bodies that can make
effective the functioning of PRIs.
The strategics involved in empowering women
involve political education, political training and the
effective role of social action groups in rendering
support services and education. Identification of
specific problems related to women is a must. For

/C^yiven that elections to the PRIs were among the
first elections where women in large numbers
had a chance to participate and involve themselves in
public life, in the beginning it is natural that they would
not have come up to the expectations of the people.
What is significant is that a large section of the illiterate
or poorly educated got elected, most of them for the
first time. As a tradition builds up through regular
elections, their experience will result in better perfor­
mance in the days to come. Indeed, this is the first step,
and an important step at that, as no distance can be
covered without the first step.
Women's participation in PRIs has to be dealt with
18

SoulhLInk

r\\rslaiKc, on identifying gram panchayals on lhe basis
of population as opposed to one village, elected
women officials will find it difficult in going to another
village. Further, a balance of the division of labour
(between household chores and panchayat responsi­
bilities) has to be worked out by the villagers
themselves.
The agenda for action for rural women's political
empowerment has indeed seen a breakthrough in the
form of the 73rd Amendment. However, women have
to be careful about the trends of liberalisation in the
economy which is bound to conflict with the principles
of panchayati raj which emphasise the strengthening of
small-scale and cottage industries. The entry of multi­
national companies may hamper the production of
local products, and, therefore, rural women's liveli­
hoods.
Political parties have used the PRIs for narrow
political gains apart from granting some benefits to the
local people. Through the PRIs, the parties have
^renghthened their grassroots' political base. The
-PI(M) in West Bengal, and the Shetkhari Sangathana
in Maharashtra are cases in instance. Effectively, in
case of liberalisation, the PRIs could be used to
promote the interests of the larger companies as well.

The role of political parlies in making PRIs
effective cannot be ignored. In Maharashtra, the
Shetkari Sangathana members, and the CPI(M) in West
Bengal, have supported PRI. Workshops on the role of
voluntary groups and reservations for women have
been organised at Stale levels in Gujarat (Sakhina
Sanidhyama in 1993) and in Rajasthan (Patel 1994).
Notwithstanding the role of political parties, and
voluntary organisations, one has to bear in mind that
the political will of women and men alone can make
any legislation effective.
There is a need to train and educate the female
elected representatives in management and skill­
development before one can count on the successes of
the 33% reservations for women. As Susheela Kaushik
(1993: 13) puts it, "... by getting this one gate opened,
the women's movement can (and must) flood the rural
side with the potentialities and political contributions
of women".
B Assistancefor this article was provided by Chitra of GPC.

NIPH Hyderabad is conducting training with the help
of a large number of NGOs for making people,
particularly ivomen aware of the panchayat electioiis.

STATE OF THE PANCHAYATS AND RESERVATION OF WOMEN
Andhra Pradesh : Reservation for women is minimum of two and maximum of 4 seats (25% of the Gram
Panchayat). Elections are overdue at the time of going to press.
Uttar Pradesh : This has been fixed as per the total number of members, i.e. one seat is reserved for women
for every 5 members (approximately 20%).
Karnataka : There is 25% reservation for women at Zilla and Mandal Panchayat level.

Kerala: In the four district councils, seats 30% have been reserved for women.
Madhya Pradesh : 20% in Gram Sabhas, 1% of the sarpanchs in the Janpada (block-level) panchayat, and 10%
in the Zilla Parishad have been reserved for women.

Maharashtra : 30% reservation for women.
Orissa: 30% of the total number of seats are reserved for women. In addition, a post of additional vice
chairperson of local bodies is reserved for women.

J

t 'amil Nadu : Although the details are not known; its three tier system allows the co-option of many women
members.

Uttar Pradesh : There has been no reservation for women in the past elections, though co-option of one woman
is provided for in case of a vacancy. At the Ziila Parishad level, women are coopted in proportion to their
population.

Bihar : Elections are overdue.
Punjab .- Direct elections are held for only 40% of the seats at the block and district levels. This means that
the provision of having l/3rd women members does not apply to a majority of the Panchayat bodies. Only
15.2% of panchayat members are women.

West Bengal : Women given 39.3% reservation - above lhe statutory minimum. One of the states at the lead
in giving power to women at the local level. 28,000 women have already been elected.
Tripura : Not only have large numbers of women been elected at the Panchayats, but a very large percentage
of these are tribal women. This must surely be the best example for other states to emulate.
|

Source: Susheela Kaushik, Orgmiising Women for Panchayati Raj, Health For The Millions, volume 1, n. 4, 1993, pp. 12-15 and other reports

19

ii mw

Women activists air^
doubts over quota
yentionist role. She added that in
A T ruFebruary 10.
India, there was an inverted struc\A / niie supporting reservations ture where more women held pow’ for women in the political er at the Centre and state level than
arena, women’s rights activists at the local level.
questioned whether it would lead to
In their paper, researchers Usha
their participation in decision-mak- Thakkar and Rohini Gavankar
mg or change their societal status in said they had come across several
I the seminar “Women, empower­ cases where women panchayat
ment and political participation."
members served as mere spokesper­
The seminar, which started yes­ sons of men. “We came across a
terday, was organised by SNDT case where the woman’s husband
university’s research centre for wo­ attended the panchayat meetings
men’s studies (RCWS) and Max and made the decisions on her be­
half.” they said.
i Mueller Bhavan.
Ecologist ;and activist Vandana
Tk U .
tcologist
1 ne delegates discussed whether Shiva, while supporting the pan­
30 Per cent seats in panchayats chayat reservation, artlu
said H
it IIdU
had bewould be filled up by women who comefutileinthecurrenteraofcloserved merely as figureheads while balisation,• which
rendered
1- '
— ------- - local
power was wielded by men. They bodies
' ” powerless.
wondered whether candidates
In her^..^uu.^yester
keynote address yesterday,
would adequately represent the in- she said developments like the new
tercsts of women. The German de- economic policy
" and the signing of
legates shared their experiences on nA-r-r
GATT had severely affected lhe
the quota system for women in poli- country
. ’s sovereignty.
“Pan­
tical parties in their country.
chayats must be seen in the context
l
ar Neera Desai cautioned
£11
P°^ tures. Al£™ghyo^n^ave repre^
'

.

-f

............... ail UIV UUir

tical arena may diffuse the women’s sentation, public bodies will con­
movement. She said, “The onus is trol nothing," she stated. She ad­
now on the women’s movement to ----v.Hcemau structures
ded. ‘‘All .representative
ensure that the 30 per cent women have lost power.
ha- moved out­
.
—. ..Il ..as
who are elected to panchayats ward and upward."
should be able to represent the in­
Director of the economic and so­
terests of women.”
cial research institute of the Hans
The director of the centre for wo­ Rockier foundation Heide Pfarr
men s studies in Punjab university was among the strong supporters of
Pam Rajput agreed that women's
reservation for women in political
groups would have to play an inter- life.
x

I

I

1 3 JAN 1996

' /\ 3 d

Women of India

New laws for higher status
By Sonn Khan
O revive the panchayati raj institutions, the
73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitu­
tion were passed some lime ago. Corre­
sponding legislations were also enacted.
They arc extremely potent instruments of empower­
ment. These enactments, inter alia, provide for 33 per
cent reservation of scats for women in the local,
municipal and district bodies. All women including
those who have had little opportunity to perform the
obligations of representing their fellow beings arc
required to come out and contest.
Muslims, tribals and dalits need Io be encouraged
to take such initiatives. None of their traditions need
hold them back. For example, if a Muslim woman
wants to wear a burka, she may do so but must not
hesitate to apply her mind to the given issues, sit
in the panchayat or in any other elected body. There
is no impediment in Islam for men and women to
participate in the decision-making process of a sec­

ular Slate.
According to 73rd and 74th amendments, there is
no bar for women to contest the general scats as
well. For example, taking advantage of the provi­
sions, at the grassroot level in Karnataka, the repre­
sentation of elected women is even more than 50 pct
cent in the local bodies. If implemented with the
spirit with which these enactments were carried
through the legislative process, the new arrange­
ment would facilitate the participation of a large
number of women citizens of India in the decision­
making process. Given the needed impetus by vari­
ous States, the democratic forces generated by this
particular process of change would revolutionise
our society. In the larger interest of the country, this
may be a way of ushering in a more sincere, honest,
result-oriented, corruption-free and cnvironmcnt-

Iricndly polity.
For growth and development, political stability is
important al both policy and implementation levels.
We have achieved considerable growth but a lot
more needs to be done. Maybe the women of India
could, if united, help in providing the impetus for
political stability. The 73rd and 74th amendments
would eventually decentralise the political system.
Women arc 49.7 per cent of the total population of
our country and can form a determined and solid
constituency of their own. reflecting a strong politi­
cal will. The contribution of Indian women to the
economy, visible or invisible, has been a major fac­
tor in its upw’ard trend, especially after Indepen­
dence. However this fact is not reflected in theenjoyment of their economic rights.
The indifference, responsible for the lack of
appreciation of the contribution of women by a
large section of society, is a primary source ol vio­
lence and abuse against them. This altitude also
undermines our image and economic potential.
NGOs do try and make some noises but do not
always follow the issues to the end. However, they
arc not taken seriously as they arc considcted to be
in the business of being self-appointed spokesper-

sons without relating to the women on whose behalf
they claim to speak.
The ownership and land rights of woivcn of India
arc not even 0.5 percent in spite of the fact that they
enjoy the theoretical rights of equality under the
Constitution. Most forces, motivated by an agenda
of their own. arc planning Io use women for their
ends in the coming general election without really
having a definite plan for their upliltmcnt. Chris­
tians, dalits and tribals arc being organised Some­
how India’s Muslim society is still in (lie process of
exploring the ways of making a concerted effort to

seek its share ol participation
Muslims in India arc the second largest in the
Muslimpopulationof the world The rich (undevel­
oped otherwise) and poor Muslim coimtrics follow
their traditional Muslim laws in such a wav that their

The participation of
a large number of women
in the local bodies would
revolutionise our society
and perhaps usher in a
more sincere, honest,
result-oriented,
corruption-free and
pro-environment polity
women do not get empowered though, more often
than not. for rcasonsothcr than religious ThcQuran
’ _s women more rights than the society is willing
gives
to implement and recognise Maybe India can lake
—
the lead and show the way to empower the women
in Muslim societies by beginning with our own.
Islamic jurisprudence provides for equity and
equality for women. Some Muslim countries like
1 unisia and Turkey have already relied on such an

approach.
In September last year, at the fourth world con­
ference on women al Beijing. India ratified the C on
vention on Elimination of All Forms of Disci imination Against Women without any reset Nations.
Earlier like many countries. India had cause lor
reservations, in view of the traditions ami customs
prevailing m our society. In the areas of marriage,
divorce, alimony etc the minorities arc considering
suitable amendments, whu h arc in order with the
religious rights guaranteed under (he C oiistituiron.
Appropriate amendments in out property laws

would make the exercise complete. I he declaration
made at Beijing needs to be implemented within the
provisions of our (’onstituiion.
The (Jo' emment needs to consider passing appro­
priate legislation applicable Io all Indians in which (I)
All family assets and other properties, like land and
cultivation rights, tenancy rights, etc. acquired after
maiiiage would be deemed to be jointly owned by
both wife and husband: (2) F.vcry’ parent would deem
to base made a will in w hich he or she has willed fam­
ily assets equally to their iKncriciaries. unless a con­
trary desue has been expressed in writing, giving
valid reasons lor doing so ( I unisia. a Muslim country
has such a law to give daughters an equal share).
These laws would help rhe society to eventually
strike a b.dancc lor the enjoyment of the economic
ru’h: ;,ud appreciation of the role of women in the
lamdy. 1 hr need to have a code of the nature as being
demanded by the opposition parties and others would
become redundant in view of these changes They arc
demanding the uniform civil code without realising
that srmiv ol the lundamcntal rights relating to the
freedom ol religion would be inlringed.
These laws would ensure harmony and strengthen­
ing ol the institution of the family. I bus out cultural
diversity would emerge as a source of great strength,
[•conomic rights ate a surer w ay of empowering and
changing the attitudes of society towards needed
reforms, cutting across gender-based prejudices.
Some years ago. the Akali Dal wanted Sikhs to come
out of the dclinilion of being a Hindu (they burnt the
copies of the Constitution outside Parliament) to
assert their minority status. Chic of the main reasons
was to have di I lei ent personal laws to deprive their
daughter* of a share in (he parental lands. Haryana
also med to find ways of amending the Hindu Suc­

cession Act with similar motives.
1 hciclore. the proposed amendments in the exist­
ing laws would lend topnify the people.especially the
women, by ensuring the application of the provisions
of equality in real terms. 1 hey would also empower
boll) women and children, reducing violence against
women and the differences in various levels of well­
being of our society. Caste factors would be neu­
tralised al least in (his area.
The possibilities of interpreting the Shariat Appli­
cation Act ol 1937 against the interest of the Muslim
women would he eliminated under the new dispen­
sation. The Act wa . passed by British Parliament and
is still valid in India whereas Muslim countries like
Pakistan and Bangladesh have made appropriate

.. hanges in it. I he new laws would reduce pressure on
the courts since most matters relating to family law
would receive the direction and guidance of Parlia­
ment Pet haps even the political parties would linally
have the opportunity to show their sincerity lor the
welfare of women and minorities 1 he new system
should enable India to assume leadership on the
issues ol women and family law. which is much
needed by many new natrons like Afghanistan and

the Ccntial Asian republics

•

i.x,--

A3H
ie

Reservation is not her salvation
SeemaAlavi
reservation for women. But the Mandal

rT'HE United Front Government’s deci- p
I sion to reserve 33 per cent
■ w demind for reservation for women are
projecting the problematic inherent in their
1 Parliament and State AsSempQ
30 per cent government jobs for WofoeTi
case as a mere tactical problem.
reflects the culmination of a general trend to
Reservation for women is nothing more
than a political sop. The policy will on y
casually push issues concerning women into
ensure that the educationally, economically
the so-called ’‘feminine domain ’. This
‘ •feminine’ ’ sphere is supposed to look into
and socially better off women comer the
benefits of reservation. Such a policy
matters as heinous as rape and as innocuous
as an academic interest in ’ ‘women studies .
arouse hostility against women from all sec­
Thus if a woman is burnt for dowry
tions Of society and create more fissures; m
women groups alone are expected to shoul­
social life. The valuelessness of the pol c is
particularly glaring in view of the fact that
der the sole responsibility of making noise.
Sic general policy of reservation is already
Again, women parliamentarians, even when
elected from constituencies where women
running into trouble with increasing privati­
constitute a minority, are expected to sin­
sation and the shrinking of the public sector.
The increasing retreat of the state from die
gle-handedly represent the “interests ot
economic sphere in itself will soon make a .
women1’. It is the extension of the same
peculiar logic which often finds women
mockery of the reservation policy.
This is not to deny that the state and socimembers of university selection commit­
dccd io v-ke seriously the pathetic statis­
tees being expected to “handle” women
candidates particularly if the applicants are rationale for implementing the denjaik1 for
caste and tics of women parliamentarians, academics
and bureaucrats, and the near absence of
interested in ’ ’ gender studies".
community identity, and is informed by their
The clubbing together of women exclu­ gender reservation. The'
women in the higher echelons of decision­
women independent of the social,
cultural
context. So being a woman
sively with the social and political issues and political strata or groups to which
y
diffcrcnl experience for each woman, making in both the pnvatc and public sector.
which concern them reflects the patriarchal belong. It also seeks to isolate their •nterests
hetSogeneity and freezing the This gender imbalance needs to be corrected^
-- - -------J
Whal may tip the balance in the favour of
power play which marginalises women by from those of their larger social and econom8women---that
as a social
group find themj/the^policy of affirmative action at
encouraging their ghettoisation. This orce
ic class. This is disturbing. Once women arc flux t------------ - - .
selves
in
is
problematic.
enlrv points to jobs. Parliament and educaherding together of women edges them out socially and politically isolated as an unreal­
Social and economic bacJward"“s ^Institutions. This is the only way in
from the social and political mainstream istically neat monolithic group the ongoing
outright gender discrimination
making it the exclusive preserve of men The process of social justice based on social and seems to be the only referent which may gen
proposed Bill for gender reservation is a set economic backwardness will be weakened.
to sanctify this disturbing process.
’l lie
*»' r.----The socially and economically backward women
on the basis of their gender identity is
that some women can
women fall within the purview of the Mandal
The author is an
vni
------tuting a ruvuv>»»—
o- - ,
Commission Report and gender-based reser­ bo^CAj
assumption about their identity. The votaries non can provide an acceptable rationale for Jawaharlal Nehru University
vation should not be confused with this social of reservation appear to ignore the multifacjustice programme and the latter taken as a

(

2

o
o

Q

------

----------- ------------

I Quota for women: Putting the

(

"TJopuhsm has for long been the bane of debate either within the polit­
ic Indian politics and it is once again parad- ical parties at all levels or in so- ———————
Ti? ?? the na^nal scene carrying. this ciety as a whole. Truer still is
a 1i
J ri k I
time, the banneruiof□□
33per
percent
centreservauon
reservationior
for me
the tact
fact that
that necessary
necessary steps
steps
z * %
—

good- ldea

—

■---•■tiuv
n^ueen
been idKen io sigiuifails t0 brlng vo. uaYt
icantly
increase
women.s

P

full
nf he
sodaj
poli£caI
full bnnntv
bounty of
its benefits when effected -u.i.
with
less-than-total sincerity, this otherwise laud­ activities, as also in the running
SUDHEENDffA KUI
able piece of affirmative action, too, is rendered of local self-government bodies.
weak because of it being polluted with Without this preparatory
Critic and
r.f 1
U
1 j j,
process, it is either* naive or
commentator
Every political party has pledged its support disingenuous to claim that the
to this proposed legislation, a bill for which is women candidates who will
Wcely to be tabled in Partiament. All the ma- contest the elections in the reJor political parties also had this pledge in their served constituencies will have
manifestoes
?es for
f?r the
016 ,Lok Sabha election.
eIection- In it- the requisite knowledge and
atinn
’S
Practi.cal experience of this vi| resentation
bodies ♦*.
through
ofrp^n n n„ in„ our elective
a
..-u a leg- tai sphere
.
q
clearly the cart icy will he legislated soon. Hence, instead of
islative initiative of “positive discrimination” is s v
-!----• before the horse None of
he
ng
put
our hv
po-- debating what preparatory exercise ougn
ought to
I only to be welcomed. The initiative demonconsensus
making
^simple” neC6SS^ t0
, strates a national <
_______ for __
LL.
| women substantial, if nnt
not equal, partners in the proportion of women members in their com- riously discuss the set of measures that need
to be put in place parallely both to better im­
[ legislative sphere
uv of Indian
A.------democracy.
j—"T,—«'• To that
1 mittees of office bearers at various levels.
the new policy and, on a broader plane,
extent, it highlights the gender dimension of Therefore, what is likely to happen—and this plement
to empower women in all walks of life.
our
Ur commitment to hrepublicanism.
0" *- ’.
apprehension has been voiced by many women
First, there is a need for an attitudinal change
The.question,
question, however, is: Are we goinz
going about activists themselves—is that the wives or
this aL,
_ right spirit and daughters or other close female relatives of es- to realise the Imperative of creating equal op­
.itirmative action in the
portunities for men and women both for self­
the right manner?
there
been:sufficient
.
ai/Has
”----A
-------- ^annsned political leaders will be put up as can­
growth and for contributing to the harmonious
national debate on the issue? Has the ground didates in the reserved constituencies.
growth of society. On the one hand, our national j
I been prepared to make the policy yield the deculture has always stood for gender equality, i
I sired result—that is, to enable the female half Tha rirrl-d
and believed maJe and female—purush and «
of our population to have an effective, against *
tipprOcLCn
, equal
* jinterdependent,
dependent,and
and —
mu- •)
u
.
prakruti—to be
nominal or national, participation in the affairs
“
I nis may be better than nothing—for, at least tually empowering principle
principles of creation. Yet, i
of our elective and governing bodies? Or, is the some of these, “dummy” MPs or MLAs could,
reality, the prakruti half of our society has t
in realitv,
, hurriedly proposed quota poticy yet another ata penod of time, emerge as women politi- been subjected to all manner of apathy, injus- <
I tempt by political parties to attract women vot- oyer
clans in their own right—but it does not sub- tice, “and
—1 —
t »has resulted
...in all- \
exploitation which
ersThe
in parliamentary
and
assembly
answers tothese
’qL^o^
’shoelections?
’ufd be“‘ol> stantially
°f P°litlCal emP0Wer‘ r’S“d
‘o"r‘ naUonal Ufte.* t
Second, for empowerment in elective bodies
vious. There has been no serious and thorough
„i
It now looks certain that the proposed pol- to succeed, women’s empowerment within par- sI
_ .1*

L

itting the cart before the horse
^|sh(>
P
SUDHEENDRA KULKARNI

Critic and
commentator

ties must significantly increase by
consciously elevating promising
activists to leadership positions,
Such activists, however, are not
created from nowhere. They
have to emerge out of the political process itself. This in turn
calls for greatly increasing
women's participation in all
types of political and social ac­
tivity'. It is only when a society has
a large pool of socially active
women that it gets to have a
somewhat smaller pool of politically active women. Out of this

of women political leaders who
icy will be legislated soon. Hence, instead of can make for competent MPs or MLAs. It is this
debating what preparatory exercise ought to bottom-up, rather than the top-down, approach
have preceded this step, it is necessary to se- to empowerment which can truly release the
riously discuss the set of measures that need immense regenerative power of Indian wornto be put In place parallely both to better im- enhood.
plement the new policy and, on a broader plane.
to empower women in all walks of life.
First, there is a need for an attitudinal change Pro-women tokenism
to realise the imperative of creating eoual op­
Disconcertingly, the present base of social,portunities for men and women both tor selfself- ly active women in our society is quite small.
growth and for contributing to the harmonious the biggest cnallenge before all the political
growth of society. On the one hand, our national parties and women's organisations, therefore,
culture has always stood for gender equality, is how to expand and deepen this base. This
and believed
. .. male and female—,purush andi calls for supportive action at the family, workprakruti—to be equal interdependent, and mu- place and organisational levels. It has been the
tually empowering principles of creation. Yet, universal experience of women activists, or
in reality, the prakruti half of our society has those who wish to participate in socio-politisocio-politi­
been subjected to all manner of apathy, injus- cal
( or even cultural....
....
activities outside
the four
tice, and exploitation which has resulted in all- walls of the traditional Indian household, that
round vikruti (distortion) in our national life. they face discouragement and even active reSecond, for empowerment in elective bodies sistance from male members of their family.
to succeed, women’s empowerment within par­ Ironically, this anti-woman attitude is often

prevalent even in the families of well-established political leaders. Political parties and
women’s organisations must, therefore, devise
programmes to get at least one woman in each
family involved in some kind of social activity
or the other, even if this is of the elementary
kind.
Last, supportive action must be vastly in­
creased within political parties themselves. It
simply will not do, as is now the case, for our
parlies to resort to pro-women tokenism by
forming a Mahila Morcha and giving its leaders only a marginal role, recognition, and rep­
resentation in the organisation’s decisionmaking bodies. These party-affiliated women's
pool is created a still smaller set
of elections or for mobilising crowds at a visiting leader's rally. Few parties, however, make
conscious and systematic effort to enlist the par-"
ticipation of women of all castes and sections
of society in regular campaigns which address
both women
’s andJ general socio-political issues.
----- ----To change this sorry state of affairs is pri­
marily
the11tlcalpardes.-Th'ey
responsibility of themust
maletreat
members
rf
o^p'o
their
of our
political
parties. They must treat
their
female
nale colleagues with respect and accept them
u
—*----- •ru-.
------equal partners.
They
must----------encourage
as *their
the latter to fully and freely participate in in­
ner-party debates, express their independent
views (even if they are critical ones) and take
up responsible assignments. Parties should also consciously groom capable and popular
women leaders in their ranks, treating this to
be one of their primary organisational tasks,
The call for such supportive action may sound
condescending to some in our women’s organisations, but its importance cannot be over­
looked at the present level of our socio-political development.

organisa

M063
"T'hcn on July 8. the
W JL / United
Front
'' w/wI Government
W
V

V

promised in its
common mini­

mum programme 33 per cent
reservations for women in
Parliament and State Assemblies,
the announcement was met with
widespread jubilation—markedly
so in women’s groups and
amongst political leaders who had
been lobbying hard to push
through this legislation for the
last several years.

But sceptics hung their head.
Do we want 33 Phoolans in
Parliament, they mused. Would
such constitutionally vested pow­
ers (since only a constitutional
amendment can allow this legis­
lation to pass through) really re­
duce gender based discrimina­
tion? Would the entry of women
into formal power structures re­
ally imply their “empowerment”,
they asked. And above all. are
not elected women just decora­
tive props for men, they snig­
gered.

Feminists and radicals, espe­
cially those who have been in the
vanguard of the movement
favouring reservations, may dis­
miss these questions as just an­
other ploy to keep women out of
sharing power.
Yet at the same lime, it would
not be loo wise to limit the issue
to whether or not women in India
should be given reserved quotas

Arp reservation!
7

I

Some may say this is the only way out from ^ertder^bas^ discrimination,
need 33 Phoolans in the Parliament. Poonam poel speaks to a cross-set
United Front Government's decision of 33 per cent reservations
k
S
Hk
■9
'I don’t trust
the politicians
at all'
-Usha Albuquerque
Mohini Giri, Chairperson of the
National Commission for Women
also believes that this is the only
way women will get tickets to
run for the elections.
However, even a cursory
glance at the 1996 general elec­
tions and the women who con­
tested makes it amply clear tha|
the issue is not so simple.
Ironically, all articulate and ‘po­
litically aggressive ’ women like
Margaret Alva. Mrinal Gore,
Promila Dandavate and Renuka

^lnJ9 o, ovfrpftht 1^274-c^^u^

^•onfy 491

■ joi

of seats in the legislatures. The
question is no longer whether, but
how? Which is why. it is pertinent
to ask whether reservations is the
best way of achieving equality
and redressal for age-old dis­
crimination?
"Yes, it is.” asserts the fire­
brand ex-MP of the JD. Promila
Dandavate. "I have been fighting
lor this cause for decades now.
Il is a well-known fact that men
do not want to share power with
women. The criteria in giving a
ticket is always, will she win,
docs she have the funds, will she
assert herself. Do all men who
fight elections win? And how
many of them make it on their
niun uiilhaiH n utwAfalWhen

Chowdhury were not given tick­
ets. Many women were pushed
into the constituencies reserved
for SC/ST candidates . So there
was a Meira Kumar fighting from
Karol Bagh. Sabita Das from
Karibganj. Assam, Selja Kumari
from Sirsa and many other similar
cases. Worse still, many women
candidates— merely proxies of
the men who rallied behind
them— were cither the wives, the
daughters or widows of politi­
cians. Evidently, it was either by
the virtue of being ‘in the family'
or the star quality—Phoolan
Devi's past history and the hype
generated by the film Bandit
Queen being a point in case—
ihs»t oot the women candidates

'The
resistance to
muscle power
and mafia will
come from
1 women
themselves'
Sushma Swaraj

are so many women who have
come here on their merit. Rules
are not understood by exceptions
alone. In any case, Phoolan came
without reservations, didn't she?
There may be few cases like
these in the beginning but with
increased participation, the resis­
tance to manipulation, muscle
power and mafia will come from
women themselves. As far as
dummy candidates are concerned,
tell me, are there not several
‘mauni babas* in the house who
have probably never opened their
mouths ever?” fumes Bjp
spokesperson Sushma Sawaraj,
who made it to the Parliament
through door to door campaigning
and grassroot affiliations.
Evidently, the women who
have been successful in politics
think alike. Congress MP Girija
Vyas put forth a similar view that
every movement for social reform
has its teething problems but she
foresees the need for a time frame
till this ’’reverse preference”
should be given otherwise “it will
lead to a negation of equality lat-

The point these leaders are try­
ing to make is that even if you
have a few dummy candidates,
once they become conscious of
the power vested in their
hands,“they use it for greater
good because women know what
it is to be powerless,” Vecna
Nayyar , President of
Women's Political Watch,
a Delhi based advocacy
J
group lobbying for
more women in pub/J
lie life is reported
to have said.
"More women in
State Assemblies
and Parliament

-Proi

es have actually done things to
concretely help women.
“Why women, there are wrong
men too in politics whose sole
aim is to make property or mon­
ey. But our democracy is matur­
ing and I hope with this kind of a
move, there is a collective voice
which can fight for women’s is­
sues. 1 sincerely believe that giv­
en a chance, women do help in
the overall development of the
society.” says Rajesh Pilot while
denying that chances of proxy
candidates will increase with
reservations.
In fact, the pro-reservations lob­
by enthuses that this will greatly
reduce the criminalisation of pol­
itics, or at least throw up people
who will oppose it. Many poten­
tial women aspirants have
complained that lack
of money, muscle
power and the
mafia have..___
prevented party­
men from
giving
them
the /

7

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f"")

means more reVsources for schools, primarv health care, udkhi-

-

’///.

i

senough?

I

n. Sceptics, on the other hand, may say we don’t
ection of prominent women for their views on the
is for women in the corridors of power

‘Men do not
want to share
power with
women’
‘omila Dandavate

1
■' w

'Forces of
social
revolution
have set in
which cannot
be reversed’
-Margaret Alva

m^d=rkindof
i

i

i

'
-•

expect women to emerge inde­
pendent of their shackles.
However, forces of social revolu­
tion have been set in motion
which can’t be reversed. We have
done it at the Panchayat level, we
shall do it at the national and state
levels too."
However, experience has
shown that it is only a core of
women, including Mrs Alva her­
self, who are vocal and active on
the floor of the House. Moreover,
barring a general condemnation
of violence against women, very
few women MPs have gone be­
yond their party positions.

As Brinda Karat reflects, "The
politics of a woman in Parliament
should reflect the politics of the
mass of women in the country.
They are not a homogeneous
group in which their identity and
character can be determined by
gender alone. Poor men and
women may find more things in
common than a poor woman and
a rich woman."
Perhaps, the best solution then,
is to let the parties choose half
their candidates from women.

j ensure a
quota. Why can’t merit and edu­
higher representation for them
these seats?
cation be the criteria in politics
even
if
some
of
them
lose the
That is why it is imperative
too? It is a dangerous trend that
elections. And since it will be a
to impose mandatory provisions
people are voting
for criminal el­
W
-...... to woman
WUUIBH fight, "the
woman
on political panics to effect meanements and
i ’ feel
' ‘ empowered by
chances
of muscle
p-- and
---power
ingful change since reform with­
them. Reservations
r'~y
—- ---------- ,s may appear
character assassination will also
in political parties is so painfully
good on the surface because
be lesser." according to Promila
slow." says Brinda Karat of All
women have faced the brunt of
Dandavate.
India Democratic Women’s
injustice for years together, but
However, those people who
Association, “However, reserva­
will it be effective? I don’t know.
like Mr. V.P Singh are wary of
tions should not only be quantity­
1 don’t trust the politicians at all.”
the political parties, may find so­
based but quality-based too. It
For Khushwant Singh, noted
lace by the example of backward
should be impressed upon the par­
columnist, minimum qualifica­
castes. The number of OBC can­
ties through electoral reforms that
tions should not be limited to ed­
didates rose from less than 10 per
some kind of standard is adhered
ucation but also those who pay
cent in 1951 to over 60 per cent in
to in giving tickets. In
taxes, both for the vote seeker
1989 without a Mandal to ensure
the last elections, both
and the vote giver. That is the
the same. Since simple competi­
the major parties, the
‘right’ candidate for him.
tion ensured that, there is no rea­
Congress and
If the induction of Y.K. Alagh
son why this should not happen in
the
BJP il/.has proved that academician and
the case of women too.
gave tickctkS intellectuals are being taken seri­
There is no doubt that top down
to criminal
ously by Mr Deve Gowda,
reforms like reservations are nec­
elements
Sushila Kaushik. HoD Political
essary but at the same time, it is
imongst
Science in DU has a valid point
imperative to address oneself to
women,
too when she says,“If there is no
issues like
like criminalisation
criminalisation of
of pol
nol.­
issues
and men,
entena for men, why are we be­
itics and the economic factor
which
ing extra cautious when it comes
.... ,Wprevents
,W11W WV1I1CII
, from enwhich
women
made a
to selecting women? 1 say there
tering politics. Without
.
-------1 some
real
are enough qualified women who
well-meant electoral reforms, the
can be taken in just as Mr Alagh
ground realities will still work
was. Even with reservation, if
against greater participation of
there is not enough political will,
women in the decision making
these seats may well remain va­
process. The answer lies in tack­
cant!"
ling the root causes of women's
Though the issue of reservadependence, mai
that ia,
is. me
the question
question
.
“
.
“
.
lions has recaved support from of her economic rights along with
all parties (as no party would
the cultural and social factors
I
like
io wash l,s
its hands off
\ \ ''
k« *°
which make it difficult for women
elec­
\ 1 50 per cent of the electo break the social veil. Moreover
’'■11 / lo
torate).
ura;e)- 'he
the question
instead of crying themselves
5^ ) / whether there would be
hoarse about the benefits of reser­
1
1
enough women who
vations. women bodies could do
would be willing to face the gar­
better in forming caucuses and
gantuan problems in contesting
vested interest groups which
elections becomes imnnrTani
z-r»lllz< Inkk,.
:_______
l_

0^
y

0^
in a 544-^kbi''
I-- ...

Vyas put forth a similar view that
every movement for social reform
has its teething problems but she
foresees the need for a time frame
till this "reverse preference"
should be given otherwise “it will
lead to a negation of equality lat-

The point these leaders are try­
of seats in the legislatures. The Chowdhury were not given tick­
question is no longer whether, but ets. Many women were pushed ing to make is that even if you
how? Which is why, it is pertinent into the constituencies reserved have a few dummy candidates,
to ask whether reservations is the for SC/ST candidates . So there once they become conscious of
best way of achieving equality was a Meira Kumar fighting from the power vested in their
and redressal for age-old dis­ Karol Bagh. Sabita Das from hands,“they use it for greater
good because women know what
crimination?
Karibganj. Assam, Selja Kumari
‘Yes, it is," asserts the fire­ from Sirsa and many other similar it is to be powerless,” Veena
brand ex-MP of the JD, Promila cases.
____ _Worse still, many women Nayyar . President of
Dandavatc. I have been fighting candidates-—merely proxies of Women's Political Watch, /
lor this cause for decades now. the men who rallied behind a Delhi based advocacy
It is a well-known fact that men them— were either the wives, the group lobbying for
do not want to share power with daughters or widows of politi­ more women in pub- A
politiwomen. The criteria in giving a cians. Evidently, it was either by lie life is reported
to iia»c
have said.
Sdiu.
ticket is always, will she win,
“More women in
does she have the funds, will she
or the star quality—Phoolan
assert herself. Do all men who Devi’s past history and the hype State Assemblies Vg?
light elections win? And how generated by the film Bandit and Parliament
many of them make it on their Queen being a point in case— means more reown without a godfather? When that got the women candidates sources for schools, pri­
the 73rd Amendment gave reser­ their tickets. Assuming the trend mary health care, upgravation for women at the local lev­ is a manifestation of the degener­ dation of skills.
el. there were more than ten lakh ation in our democracy, the dan­ Dwindling numbers
women who were elected as gers of having proxy candidates mean dwindling con­
for women,"
Panchayal members all over the thrice over becomes very appar- cern
she says while pointcountry. Why can’t that formula
i
.
ing °ut that in
be replicated at the national level Cn'u/k
wny ao you single out a
too?"
y
0U
.S
Jng
!
C
«2.
Ul
a
many sarpanchcascs
Phoolan or a Kami Singh? There women

of money, muscle
power and the
mafia have.__ >
prevented party­
men from
j
giving
them
the /

'!/

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fJinO'-1 oo

^6
library
AND
DOCUMENTATION
UNIT

a
> £
) rJ

Congress and-^ If the induction of Y.K. Alagh
J.has proved that academician and

the

BJfip.

< gave tickets-^ intellectuals are being taken seri­
to criminal
ously by Mr Deve Gowda,
elements
Sushila Kaushik, HoD Political
Science in DU has a valid point
amongst
women,
too when she says."If there is no
criteria
for men, why are we be­
\ and men,
i
\ which
ing extra cautious when it comes
to
made a
i selecting women? I say there
real
are enough qualified women who
can be taken in just as Mr Alagh
was. Even with reservation, if
there is not enough political will,
these seats may well remain va­
cant!"
Though the issue of reserva­
tions has received support from
all parties (as no party would
like to wash its hands off
\ 50 per cent of the elec| torate). the question
/ whether there would be

enough women who
would be willing to face the gar­
gantuan problems in contesting
elections becomes important.
Here, the emphasis on training
and special recruitment dri­
ves becomes necessary as
Margaret Alva, one of
the most vociferous
champions of the cause
^7 points out. “ It is not easy
to change the existing
structures of thousands of
^^2
years overnight and

son why this should not happen in
the case of women too.
There is no doubt that top down
reforms like reservations are nec­
essary but at the same time, it is
imperative to address oneself to
issues like criminalisation of pol­
itics and the economic factor
which prevents women from en­
tering politics. Without some
well-meant electoral reforms, the
ground realities will still work
against greater participation of
women in the decision making
process. The answer lies in tack­
ling the root causes of women’s
dependence, that is. the question
of her economic rights along with
the cultural and social factors
which make it difficult for women
to break the social veil. Moreover,
instead of crying themselves
hoarse about the benefits of reser­
vations, women bodies could do
better in forming caucuses and
vested interest groups which
could lobby for women’s issues.
Unless this is done, the legisla­
tions claiming to impart justice
can only be seen as platitudes
mouthed by wily politicians. And
as for the common woman, her
sense of empowerment will only
be limited to a boisterous Salman
Khan swinging from the chande­
liers singing Kudiyon ka hai za- .
maana!

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