CWC Newsletter – Issue 12, August 2019
Agents of Change
Kavita Ratna
After a few years of repeated and depleting dry spells, the fields of Bellary are green, for once. The communities of agricultural labourers, sheep grazers and small farmers are thankful, yet deeply concerned about errant rains crushing their crops and their hopes, in one sweep. Their lives remain extremely precarious, without any safety nets, whatsoever.
Members of Bhima Sangha, Bellary are children (young and adolescents) belonging to these communities and the injustices they face are numerous; the inhuman caste discrimination, gender violence, malnutrition, child marriage, not to mention corruption which is rampant. They lack access to quality education, sustainable occupations, basic infrastructure like water, electricity and sanitation and are struggling to make ends meet. Yet, they remain vocal, strong, energetic and optimistic despite all the odds they encounter on a daily basis.
As members of Bhima Sangha, they have very often stood up against the violation of their rights, within their homes and in their communities. Over the years, the Bhima Sanghas of Bellary have stood steadfast against child marriages and have made many valiant attempts at countering such marriages. They have also tackled the menace of illegal sale of alcohol in collaboration with Women’s Sanghas and have managed to hold off such illegal sales in several villages. This is an extremely remarkable feat considering the power that the liquor lobby wields.
These young persons have repeatedly proven that when they are empowered with information and access to decision-makers, their protagonism and participation are strengthened manifold.
Members of Bhima Sanghas of several villages of Bellary district demonstrated this once again in September 2019 when they collectively interacted with their elected governments, the Panchayats.
As a precursor to their discussions with the Panchayats, they invited all the children of their villages to ‘drop’ their issues into a ‘problem bag’ which was carried around all lanes and gullies, with spontaneous singing and dancing. These issues raised by children were collectively discussed in-depth and prioritised based on urgency, need and the number of children affected.
“When we go to work as farm labourers, we are not given food in plates because of our caste. We have to make an indention on the mud on which our employers slap down a plastic sheet and our food is put on that sheet for us to eat. The barbers in the village refuse to cut our hair, the eateries do not serve us water in glasses and we have to cup our hands.”
Akash, Bhima Sangha, Thalakallu, Bellary, 2019
The issues children brought up to the attention and for action by the Panchayat members included lack of toilets, streetlights, drainage, being treated like inferior human beings because of caste, lack of jobs, no provision for work-related training, forced migration for work, harsh working conditions, poorly managed and run schools, child marriages, no safe places to gather, NREGA wages not paid on time, widows, elderly and persons with disabilities not being able to get pensions, very poor connectivity, no quick access to doctors to name a few.
Though members of Bhima Sangha were the ones who had the appointment with the Panchayats, they made sure they included problems that concerned school going and college going young persons and all other vulnerable persons in their villages.
Represented by their president the members of Bhima Sangha presented these issues to their respective Village Panchayats. In some Panchayats, local officials were also in attendance. To give credit where it is due, these adults in the Panchayats were highly receptive to the children and also frank and forthcoming in their responses. They listed out the specific steps they would take in relation to the problems raised by children and also agreed to have regular, periodic discussions with the children to update them on the status of their actions. In Nandihalli Panchayat the President allocated a room for Bhima Sangha, on the spot, to use as a safe space for their Sangha activities.
“The poor in our villages are in a worse situation than mute animals. The government cannot respond to the needs of the rich and the educated only, they have to function for us too. A lot of assurances have been given to us and we will not remain quiet if they do not fulfill them.”
Vani, Bhima Sangha, Dasarahalli Thanda, Bellary, 2019
To monitor the assurance given by the Panchayats the members of Bhima Sangha have tied one red ribbon per problem to a tree at the entrance of the Panchayat office as a constant reminder. For every problem addressed the red ribbon is replaced with a white one. The Panchayats have agreed to have regular and periodic meetings with children to report back to the children. The issues which are outside the remit of the Panchayat’s mandate will be collectively taken up at the Taluk level through the Taluk Task Force which includes representatives of Bhima Sangha, Presidents of Panchayats and Taluk level officials.
“There are no jobs here. Many of us migrate with our parents to work in other districts. After six months, when we return, the schools are not taking us back and our future is ruined. Our parents should get jobs in our own villages without a break. We have raised many such issues now with the Panchayats and have tied red ribbons to mark our problems. They have assured us that they will solve these problems and within two months, make sure that the red ribbons will become white. We have taken their signatures on the list of problems given to them. If these problems are solved, we will join hands with the Panchayat and get involved with the work in our villages with a lot of enthusiasm.”
Gangama, Sudha, members of Bhima Sangha, Hiremallanakeri Panchayat, Bellary, 2019
At a time when civil society participation in governance is at its lowest ebb, these members of Bhima Sangha are claiming their right to citizenship in a democratic and just manner. They offer a glimmer of hope along with all the young people around the world who are speaking out against issues such as climate change and racial discrimination. More strength to them!
Illegal Sale of Alcohol – the Spirit that is killing the soul of communities across Karnataka
Deepti M Colaco
The entire state of Karnataka was in a shock to hear the State Excise Minister mention that the government intended to make alcohol available at doorsteps and to introduce mobile alcohol sale units to reach hamlets of indigenous communities! He also proudly claimed that the State had surpassed the target of Rs. 19,750 crores, set for the Excise Department for 2018 – 19 and had earned Rs. 19,943 crores!
Following the backlash from civil society activists and groups, coupled with the Chief Minister’s displeasure, the minister was quick to retract the statement saying ‘such mishaps sometimes occur during speeches’!
His sentiments, though clearly an over-reach – is very much in line with the overall approach of the State to sale of alcohol in Karnataka – in which revenue interests have been paramount – despite the thrust it has given to illegal sale of liquor, despite the struggles of the women and children as a result of alcohol abuse. In such a backdrop, it would not be surprising if the proposals of the Excise Minister may surface again, in the days to come.
Alcohol has taken away everything – our family, our livelihood, our dignity
This is the refrain that one can hear over and over in the villages of Karnataka – including in Bellary, Bangalore and Udupi districts where CWC’s field programmes with children and communities operate. Illegal sale of alcohol (where alcohol bought legally but is sold illegally), continues to be a burning issue in the state of Karnataka. It has raised its ugly head to span urban areas as well as the rural and sometimes even in extremely remote panchayats. Opening up of illegal markets and channels of sale of alcohol especially IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor), has become so ingrained in the communities that now local vegetable vendors, milk booths, etc. are pushing IMFLs into communities that have neither the history nor the means to support these catastrophic addictions.
The communities, especially the children and the women, who have been affected by the issue, have time and again raised forceful voices to counter this malevolent abuse of alcohol with the support and facilitation of CWC. Members of the Bhima Sanghas, Children’s Sanghas, and Women’s Sanghas in Udupi and Bellary Districts with whom CWC have been raising alarm bells regarding the illegal sale of alcohol over the years with details related to locations of every single outlet in their respective panchayats. Yet they have hardly received any state support and have had to face backlash for their protagonism locally.
Following participatory research by the members of Bhima Sangha and Makkala Sangha in Keradi Panchayat in 2002, children not only identified the existence of the problem but also gained verifiable proof of how the communities in the panchayat were succumbing to this unchecked and open illegal sale of alcohol. The study threw up a very disturbing fact that the panchayat was bearing a presumptive annual loss to the tune of Rs.11,88,000/- in individuals purchasing alcohol and this loss was at the cost of the social, community and individual fiber of the members of the panchayats. The members of the Makkala Sangha then leveraged this information to dialogue with and demand accountability from the authorities, local to the district level. As a result of this information based advocacy led by children, the shop was shut n Keradi, and till date remains as one of the widely known success stories of advocacy by children through effective and child rights friendly information management. It has also enabled children to be recognised globally as research protagonists, capable of undertaking research to affect policy change.
While Keradi was successful in shutting down the illegal sale of alcohol, in the absence of the state’s will to quell this menace, the problem over the years has seeped back into the panchayat and across Kundapur taluk. Thus in a situational analysis conducted by CWC in July 2019, it became clear that the illegal sale of alcohol has grown roots once again in Keradi and other panchayats. Our conversations were led by Makkala and Mahila Mitras, panchayat members, Anganwadi workers with a few licensed vendors. They brought up several issues of importance related to the illegal sale of alcohol and provided opportunities to discuss the State excise policy about alcohol and the revenue targets set by the State. They have a direct bearing on the challenges children, youth and women face in our communities
We met with Mahi (Name changed), a Mahila Mitra from one of the panchayats, who discussed how alcohol consumption has affected both adults and children. The illegal sale of alcohol has increased the availability of alcohol and the lack of age restrictions in illegal outlets for sale of alcohol are also a problem. The increased cost of alcohol has increased the debt burden. Other members pointed out that the overall number of people abusing alcohol has increased, with an increasing number of women becoming addicted to alcohol. This has led to a complete breakdown of the family unit.
At the local level, there have been many challenges for activists. One major issue is that women and other activists are very frustrated in their fight against the sale of illegal alcohol. Vani, a Mahila Mitra discussed how when shops are reported for the sale of illegal alcohol to the excise department, they are shut down temporarily but soon re-opened. Raghavendra Kothari, the President of the Keradi gram panchayat and Girija, Mahila Mitra from the Keradi Panchayat also discussed how illegal shops are pre-informed before police raid so that no liquor is found inside the shop during the time of the raid, “When such is the case, when local informers inform illegal vendors to hide their illegal stash in their respective shops at the time of the raid, people’s efforts to stop the sale of illegal liquor go in vain”
There have also been reports of intimidation and harassment against women who are activists against the illegal sale of alcohol. Shravani, a Mahila Mitra from Keradi panchayat, discussed how women are threatened for their activism and fear backlash from their own family and the larger community. These issues have created a sense of hopelessness among local activists. Kothari stated that “all efforts to ban the illegal sale of liquor go in vain at Panchayat, Taluk and District levels” and that a state-level mass awareness program must be conducted.
The illegal sale of alcohol also has health risks for consumers as discussed by a licensed vendor, who did not wish to be named. He highlighted that the alcohol that is sold illegally is usually of a lower quality, which has a lower quality spirit or is spurious.
The looming question then remains as to why the State is stonewalling this extremely critical and dangerous issue. The answer lies in the fact that the Excise Department in Karnataka is the 2nd largest revenue-earning department in the state, functioning under the administrative control of the Finance Department[1]. More than 95%[2] of its revenue is from Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer. In the past 11 years, the consumption of liquor in Karnataka has grown by 77% and the excise revenue by a staggering 273%. The Excise Revenue has increased from Rs.4,812 crores in 2007-08 to Rs.17,948.5 crores in 2017-18.
The State Excise Department Targets have been increased every year. It is shocking that the Target increase in the last 4 years has been at least Rs.800 crores more than the previous year. For 2018-2019, the target was revised twice, from Rs.17,948.5 crores to Rs.18,750 crores in February 2018, and subsequently revised to Rs.19,750 crores in July 2018. Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, top the list in the number of retail outlets in the country, with 5 of the other states closely competing with these top 2 states.
Even more alarming is that over the last couple of years the government opened around 300 liquor outlets through Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL), the state-run marketing entity, and now is the process of opening another 600 outlets. This will take the number of MSIL outlets to 1,360. Right now, the number of sales outlets have been increased in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and rural markets are being opened up indiscriminately. This along with the 2017 Supreme Court judgment to relax the ban on liquor shops along national and state highways for cities, towns and municipal areas with a population of 20,000 or less to 220 meters from the earlier 500 meters, will further increase access to alcohol for smaller communities already reeling under its ill effect.
While abuse of alcohol is directly responsible for staggering health and social costs, (70 percent of violence against women and over 80 percent of domestic violence affecting children, women and elderly), the State continues to ramp-up its Excise earnings from the sale of alcohol. According to a NIMHANS study[3], it is estimated that while gains in terms of revenue from alcohol sales are Rs.216 billion every year, losses from adverse effects of alcohol are estimated to be Rs.244 billion, apart from the immeasurable losses due to multiple and rollover effects of alcohol use.
Several community members, especially women, expressed that this clearly demonstrated that the government’s only concern is increasing its revenue and that it does not care about the wellbeing of women and children. In fact, Nandini, an Anganwadi worker, stated that the government alone is responsible for all of the problems created by the illegal sale of alcohol. She drew a very stark analogy, “if alcohol is the ocean, the government is the ship which is floating on the ocean (alcohol) and we the citizens are the passengers on this sinking ship”. A licensed alcohol vendor-provided further details as to how the state excise department continues to increase revenue annually. There is immense pressure on vendors to meet unofficial targets for the sale of alcohol, including a 20% increase in sales from the previous year. There is also great pressure to sell IMFL or hard liquor at a 2:1 ratio with regard to beer. If these targets are not met, department officials pressure vendors through indirect means by filing a violation of license cases (VLC) or by harassing vendors. He also critiqued the recent Supreme Court order that reversed the decision to not have liquor shops within a radius of 220 meters from national highways, which would further increase the availability of alcohol.
While the verdict on whether or not a total ban on alcohol is the solution is still pending– going by its failure in other states – there is not an iota of doubt that the State Government should stop stone-walling the issues of illegal sale of alcohol and alcohol related harm, and own up its responsibility to address the phenomenal harm caused by the State’s alarming dependence on Excise, pushing for increased Sale of Alcohol and propagation of illegal sale of alcohol; all of which has further perpetuated abuse and deprivation experienced by women and children due to alcohol abuse. Illegal sale of alcohol and alcohol-related harm is thus a matter of great urgency and shame, which the State must address head-on, in consultation with children and women whose rights are most violated by it. The State Government and its Excise department have to find other just and meaningful ways to raise resources – those that do not jeopardise the wellbeing of its citizens – especially children and women.
Watch the Keradi Story here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gBfRtmJiy4
To read ‘Children as research protagonists’, click here:
http://www.add-resources.org/children-as-agents-of-change.4893466-315779.html
[1] http://stateexcise.kar.nic.in/english/index.asp
[2] http://stateexcise.kar.nic.in/english/sourcewise_revenue.asp
[3] Burden and Socio-Economic Impact of Alcohol, The Bangalore Study”, by NIMHANS
Finding lasting solutions to child marriage – is the Karnataka Amendment making a difference yet?
Nishita Khajane
The Supreme Court of India hailed Karnataka State’s amendment in 2017, to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) as a model for the entire country. This amendment decrees that every child marriage, where the groom is below 21 years and bride below 18 years of age, is null and void. One of the main implications of this legislative change is that child marriage is considered invalid at the outset and hence there is no requirement for it to be annulled, as was the case earlier and as it continues to be in other states of the country. In the past, if the wedding had taken place, the girl and the boy were under the protection of the laws governing wedded unions but now it is no longer so. In case there is any physical relationship between the girl and the boy, it is considered a violation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and may also be brought 
under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) if the case requires it.
The apex court has favoured all other states to follow the Karnataka example and the other states are closely watching the implications of this model. As an organisation working closely with the issue of child marriage for several decades, the Concerned for Working Children (CWC), set out to conduct a situational analysis of the impact of this amendment on the ground, since October 2017, when it came into effect. We went to 6 Panchayats in Huvina Hadagali Taluk of Bellary district, an arid district of Northern Karnataka, to do so.
The Amendment remains unknown to communities
Members of Bhima Sangha, the union of working children facilitated by CWC, representatives of Makkala Mitras and Mahila Mitras (Friends selected by children and women respectively to assist them in times of crises) and team members of CWC have faced severe wrath of the community, while attempting to prevent child marriages. The families are often angered because they feel our resistance is coming in the way of doing their best for their children.
Why are they getting children married, if they want the best for their children? Is this the best option that they see before them to protect and provide for their children? What other options need to be put in place, so that young children are not subjected to marriages that clearly violate all their rights? These questions have been part of our struggle over the years. We have had to seek answers to these burning questions, answered in varied ways depending on children and their unique situations.
We have had several successes and we continue to do so, yet the challenges remain huge and daunting. Child marriages continue to take place despite activism of Bhima Sangha and endless firefighting by our activists on the ground.
Now, in the light of the amendment, the big question is what will happen to the marriages that have taken place post the implementation of the Amendment in Karnataka? What is the status of the girls involved? Are members of the communities and children aware of the amendment and its implications?
We visited Sogi, Nandihalli, Hiremalanakeri, Ugaluru, Devagondanahalli and Mahajanadahalli Panchayats. It was also a reality check of the status of child marriage in the area, nearly a decade after the Justice Shivaraj Patil Committee Report came out, with detailed recommendations to address the issue of child marriage in Karnataka. That committee had extensively consulted children about what they wished to see as alternatives and what support they required.
We have seen that over the years, how child marriage, though unlawful, have continued to take place. Parents would get their children married secretly in hushed up ceremonies. , After the ceremonies, the marriage would earn the status of a legally binding union. Though punishment for people conducting the marriage was intensified, child marriages were still taking place. s seen in the example below, they are resulting in secondary victimisation of the girls because the families are not aware of the changed status of child marriages!
We, as CWC, were part of the drafting team of the report. During our visit, we were trying to understand to what extent those recommendations had been implemented and to see what the 2017 Amendment meant to children and their families.
The Amendment remained largely unknown to children, their families and communities. As the Amendment is in place, the marriages that have taken place since its implementation, are invalid. The lack of knowledge about this development is highly detrimental to the lives of young girls. They are totally vulnerable to desertion and children born to them are also unprotected.
We found the senior officials of the Department of Women and Child Welfare and that of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, based at the District level were aware of the Amendment. But clearly, they had made no efforts to share the information in the communities and to prevent child marriages taking place with increased urgency and vigour. Child marriages continue to be carried out.
Narmada (Name changed), 18, was married when she was 16 in 2017. Her husband succumbed to illness, leaving her with a 3-month-old infant. With her marriage now declared null and void, Narmada has lost the protection available under laws governing legally wedded unions. She will not be entitled to any property belonging to her husband and will not receive any protection under the law. The newborn infant is not entitled to any support from the father’s side of the family. Having learned of the consequences, Narmada’s family broke down and it was indeed painful to witness that. Upon inquiry with the Department of Women and Child Development, it was heartening to learn that Narmada is able to avail widow pension and personal loans if she wishes to. Our facilitators have been following up with Narmada and the gram panchayat to ensure that she receives the widow pension.
Children’s protagonism to counter children marriages
There certainly are glimmers of hope but none of these are linked to the amendment yet. Several of them are directly linked to the agency of children themselves – those who are members of Bhima Sangha, a union of working children facilitated by CWC.
Seetha and Roja (Names changed) received their marriage proposals before they had turned 18. Both of them refused to marry –one because she wanted to focus on her education and both, being members Bhima Sangha, were aware of the negative impacts they may face, including legal and physical implications. Seetha was not only able to prevent her own marriage but also that of another child, through the Beda Balya Vivaha (Say No Child Marriage) campaign.
Members of the Bhima Sangha in the Nandihalli panchayat have prevented four child marriages successfully in the recent past. Sangeetha said that when they prevent child marriages from taking place, parents challenging them and ask “Will Bhima Sangha protect our children and bring them back if they ran away?” She said that parents seem to believe that marrying their children is the best way to protect them.
Bhima Sangha has been a torchbearer in raising issues of child marriage. It is an important factor in the community, performing gatekeeping activities and protecting the interests of children, thereby upholding their basic rights. Such positive stories reinstate our faith in children being able to advocate for their own rights, armed with the power of information and taking active steps towards realising their rights.
Community efforts contribute positively
Our interactions with local temples that conducted mass marriages, revealed that many of them now perform mass marriages with stringent processes in place to verify the ages of the bride and groom. The intention is to ensure that the prospective couple are of legal age at the time of their marriage and that they avail the benefits of the ‘Adarsha Vivaaha’ (ideal marriage) scheme. It must be mentioned here that CWC was the very first to initiate Adarsha Vivaha Scheme in Bellary as a role model and the State took on the model for mass replication. The stringent age scrutiny methods were recommendations of the Justice Shivaraj Patil Committee Report. CWC was a member of the Mass-marriage Sub-committee drafting team of that Committee (we were also part of the Child marriage-Education Curriculum Committee and led the sub-committee on Children’s Right to Participation in addressing Child marriages). It is heartening to see several of the Mass marriage age scrutiny processes being implemented and see first-hand that they are making a positive impact.
The members of the Mass Marriage Committees are of the opinion that the instances of child marriages have reduced as the parents of the young brides are ready to wait for the next mass marriage programme to avail the benefits under the scheme. This also enables them to save up on the expenditure of private ceremonies. These have been brought under the ambit of the State Government.
We however did take note of a few lapses in the verification of the supporting documents. Some child marriages were solemnized due to lack of adequate age proof, especially of the girls. This is another indication of the lack of importance assigned to recording the exact birth date of girls. When authentic and verifiable documents are lacking, it becomes easy for the parents to procure fake documents to falsify age. This seemingly insignificant link has a big impact.
Mandatory birth registrations and tightening of the system to ensure their strict implementation will go a long way to aid child marriage prevention. If awareness is spread about the importance of birth registration to access the welfare schemes that children and their families are rightfully entitled to, more families may ensure birth registration for its benefits.
Root causes of child marriages still persist
Child marriage, in principle, is in violation with the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and several other laws and policies upholding of child rights in India. Our own experience has repeatedly demonstrated that prevention of child marriage requires both micro as well as macro responses. Poverty, large geographical areas lacking development, lack of meaningful education and occupations, lack of proper healthcare facilities, lack of safety and security of young girls, lack of focus on higher education of young girls – all of these continue to be the macro reasons which perpetuate child marriages.
At the local level, for instance, equipping girls with adequate sex education, empowering them to make sound and healthy decisions; awareness among the families and communities about ill effects of child marriage; critical review of customs and beliefs that push children into child marriages and other vulnerable situations; the local rivalry, false sense of honour, relationships within the caste and community, customs and beliefs, and religious practices perpetuate child marriages.
For each of the above causal factors of this deeply rooted social problem, there are schemes that the Govt. of Karnataka is supposed to have launched, with links to relevant determinants. Nearly, a decade after the Shivaraj Committee Report, these schemes are very far from reaching the communities that require it and so they have not had any significant impact on child marriage prevention.
Implications of the Amendment to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA)
The amendment, though strong in principle and spirit, has the potential to cause harm to young girls and their families who have no knowledge about the implications of the amendment, during the course of its enactment. Such an amendment, has the potential to become a strong deterrent against child marriages from further taking place, however, if the alternatives are not in place for children, it can result in further violation of the rights of children who are married, as in the case of Narmada. While members of Bhima Sangha and the communities are being oriented to the amendment and its implications, CWC is also working on a state level strategy to respond to the lapses in the systemic support that such an amendment should have been clubbed with.
As always advocated by CWC, there has to be a coordinated effort by multiple stakeholders in the society including the children, parents, community, local government, civil society organisations, concerned departments and the law, to converge harmoniously to end the practice of child marriages.
Efforts have to be made to ensure that the communities disregard child marriages as a way to secure the future of their children and instead access affirmative schemes, programmes and support to enable children to realise their rights and to find opportunities to realise their full potential.
To read more about CWC’s work with respect to child marriage, click here:
http://www.concernedforworkingchildren.org/empowering-children/child-marriage/
To read the Shivaraj Patil Committee Report on the status of Child Marriage in Karnataka, click here:
Highlights of the quarter: May – Aug 2019
Team CWC
Order passed for Karnataka Development Programme meetings to take place at Grama Panchayat level! The first positive step for Grama Panchayats to function as ‘Local Self Governments’
To strengthen local governance by enabling Gram Panchayats to function as ‘local self-governments’, the Gram Panchayat Hakkottaaya Andolana has been lobbying with the Government of Karnataka to devolve funds, functions and functionaries as per the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act. Of the 29 subjects to be devolved, with an order passed in May 2019, the funds, the function and functionaries for library management were devolved. Yet this is just a very small step forward and yet to be seen in practise.
One of the key demands of the GPHA was to ensure a bottom-up approach to development, commencing at the Gram Panchayats and then to move upwards as stated in the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act. For this, the Andolana had been consistently lobbying with the Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, at the Legislative Sessions of the State, with the State officials and in every possible forum related to political decentralisation. This in effect also meant that the Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) meetings should take place at the Gram Panchayat level instead of at the District Level as has been the practice.
Finally, our struggle has found success in relation to KDP meetings! With the passage of an order by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Government of Karnataka in June 2019, KDP meetings are now conducted at the Gram Panchayat in the presence of the President, Vice President of the Gram Panchayat, along with the President of the Social Justice Committee to discuss and take decisions with regard to all the 29 subjects that come under the purview of the Gram Panchayat.
This order also empowers the President, as the Chief Executive of the Gram Panchayat, to challenge subsequent tiers of the elected governments if any gaps or distortions occur in the implementation of the decisions taken at their KDP meeting. With this, the Gram Panchayats are able to exercise their mandate and their autonomy as local self-governments. It is extremely important for every Panchayat in Karnataka to make use of this developmental exercise to ensure that the needs of all its citizens, especially the most vulnerable, are upheld – by involving them, including children and women – directly, actively and meaningfully in the entire process to function truly as ‘local self-governments’.
Capacity building training for Makkala Mitras and Mahila Mitras across 58 panchayats
As a part of strengthening community-based support structures that enable and strengthen children’s participation, 55 Makkala Mitras and 46 Mahila Mitras from 58 panchayats were part of capacity building interactions. The scope of the interactions was to enable them to be able to identify and map issues that were to be raised at the panchayat level and district level task force meetings. They were also trained on how they can facilitate the formation of new Makkala Sanghas, how they can establish workable linkages with them, their roles and responsibilities with respect to supporting the Makkala Sanghas and the process that they need to follow with respect to identifying issues that have been posted in the Children’s Post Boxes. The training was facilitated by the field programme, led by Prabhakar Naik and supported by Sharada, Dilshad and Shanoor. To read more about Makkala Sanghas and children’s participation, click here:
http://www.concernedforworkingchildren.org/empowering-children/childrens-citizenship/
Professional Education and job placement at Namma Nalanda Vidya Peetha
Namma Nalanda Vidya Peetha collaborated with 7 institutions who have expertise in technical training and have recognised certification, for facilitating children for their skill upgradation. Thus, 60 children were facilitated to transform their lives by with appropriate education and the required skills and knowledge pertaining to democratic practices, life skills, gender sensitization, and safe and sustainable livelihood options.
Children who had completed their vocational training attended short term vocational courses. They were also facilitated to obtain management, marketing & financial management skills. They were also capacitated to demonstrate their skill in designing and developing simple, cost-effective and indigenous tools and technologies that are required for everyday use in the community. Consequently, children have developed more than 11 such easy operating small machinery tools that can be used in electrification, agriculture, rainwater harvesting and domestic work. Exposure to entrepreneurship development programmes has enabled 58 children, who are now procuring safe livelihood options for their sustainability.
Ensuring access to regular healthcare for children at Namma Bhoomi
Regular medical checks are organised for children at Namma Bhoomi to ensure their good health. About 68 children were treated in local PHCs, taluk and district level hospitals during this period for common ailments. A counseling session was conducted for about 22 children in May 2018 by about 6 doctors from the Clinical Psychology department of KMC, Manipal, Udupi district. About 80 children benefited from the dental camp that was organised for the children at Namma Bhoomi in August 2018. The team of doctors, who conducted the camp, also advised the children on how to take care of oral and dental health.
Enrolment drive for the upcoming year at Namma Bhoomi
With the beginning of a new academic year, the Namma Nalanda Vidya Peetha programme conducted an enrolment drive in Kundapur taluk, Udupi district. About 44 panchayats were covered during the enrolment drive, reaching out to 2000 people. As a result, 42 children have expressed their interest in enrolling themselves in the vocational training programme. The entire enrolment drive was helmed by Shivanand Shetty, Assistant Director, CWC, along with the staff of Namma Bhoomi and Namma Nalanda Vidya Peetha.
Namma Nalanda Vidya Peetha is inspired by the principles of Montessori that emphasize freedom with responsibility, and respect a child’s natural psychological development. Read more about NNVP: http://www.concernedforworkingchildren.org/empowering-children/education-for-democracy/namma-nalanda-vidyapeeta/
Empowering Gram Sabhas to function as the nodal agency for local governance and ensuring it’s accountability to the Gram Sabha
Gram Panchayat Hakkottaya Andolana has focused on enabling the marginalised community members especially in North Karnataka where distributional effects of remarkable growth are highly restricted and concentrated, resulting in intra-regional inequality. Detailed discussions were undertaken with such members of the Gram Sabha (Community) who are economically marginalised and their right to survival is disregarded. 28 orientation programmes have been conducted, covering 4100 members from 30 Gram Panchayats of 3 districts of Karnataka in which more than 60% were women. The issues discussed included how to raise their core issue of survival, utilising the Gram Sabha Meetings as an effective platform. Representatives of local governments have also been capacitated to develop inclusive planning. As an immediate reflection, a special Gram Sabha has been conducted in a Panchayat called Nesargi, in Belgaum District particularly to discuss the concerns and issues of the livelihood of the community. All the 150 community members (more than 65% are women actively participated in this Gram Sabha and systematically presented their issues and demands before the local government) are now enabled to realise their powers and roles being Gram Sabha (Community) Members in developing plans for Rural Local Governments and its implementation. All the issues and demands have become part of the resolutions of the local government for further action.
With a view of holding local governments accountable for ensuring the right to survival of citizens, through effective implementation of the NREGA scheme, The Gram Panchayat Hakkottaya Andolana interacted with the NREGA workers in these districts. The interaction was held to discuss with them the steps to be taken with respect to the implementation of the Employment Guarantee Scheme and the issues faced by them as a community. Issues such as low wages, reduced number of working days, lack of provision of labour card, lack of health insurance and pension benefits and also lack of benefits from the panchayats were discussed during the interaction.
The NREGA workers have agreed to raise their issues in the upcoming Gram Sabha and follow up in that regard. They have also agreed to meet with all of the district representatives in this regard to discuss how this can be taken forward. Our team has also met with the Gram panchayats of Uttangi and Mahajanadahalli to discuss this and have also initiated facilitating the preparatory meetings for the same. They have eagerly agreed to participate in a district-level movement with regard to issues that they face. The discussion was steered by Shivamurthy Bhandarkar, Kripa Bhat, Srinivas Ganiga and Suresh Gouda of the Gram Panchayat Hakkottaya Andolana.
Review of Youth Participation in Governance: Consultancy commissioned by the Commonwealth
CWC was commissioned by the Economics, Youth and Sustainable Development Directorate (SDD) of the Commonwealth Secretariat to review Youth Participation Structures of Commonwealth. The consultancy team was led by Nandana Reddy and the other two members were Julian Kramer, former Head, Country Programmes, for Save the Children (in India, Nepal, Laos) and Kavita Ratna, CWC. The Terms of Reference (TOR) for Phase 1 of the consultancy was developed in 2017 and it was rolled out in early 2018.
The outcome of Phase 1 was a scoping study that includes an analysis of Commonwealth’s youth participation framework; a review of the structures, processes, effectiveness, and knowledge gaps with respect to governance; review of youth-led networks facilitated by Commonwealth; and a secondary study of national youth participation eco-systems in four-member countries (Uganda, United Kingdom, Bangladesh and Bahamas). Recommendations have been made for filling information gaps and designing focused guidance to the Commonwealth Secretariat, to the member states on ways forward for creating inclusive and meaningful structures for youth participation in governance. The outcome of Phase 1 has formed the basis for in-country studies in Phase 2.
The objectives of Phase 2 is to develop contextualised youth participation in governance frameworks for each country context, and a holistic youth participation framework to inform similar youth participation in governance analysis and planning processes across the Commonwealth. The intention is to ensure local to global synergy; and develop and produce for the Commonwealth, the tools of engagement in order to inform replication of process by the Commonwealth, Commonwealth Youth Council and other players. This, in turn, is to provide further direction to countries across Commonwealth regions, including strategies for possible linkages to global Commonwealth participation structures including the Commonwealth Youth Council and the Commonwealth Youth Forum. The team has undertaken the country visits in the UK, Uganda and Bahamas during the months of May – July 2019 and is working on compiling the findings from the tri-country visits.
Training on Child Rights at Karnataka Residential Education Institutions Society (KREIS)
Kavita Ratna, Director – Advocacy of The Concerned for Working Children, was at the Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society (KREIS), to conduct a capacity building workshop for their master resource persons on children’s rights, with a special focus on right to protection and the implementation of child protection guidelines for educational institutions. The KREIS, run by the Department of Social Welfare, has about 730 residential schools exclusively for providing quality education for children from SC, ST, and other backward communities. 75 Master Resource Persons were at the program. They will be conducting similar sessions, to reach all 730 institutions. This was the first time that KREIS conducted internal training for their master resource persons and the facilitation was steered by CWC.
CWC’s response to the recent move by Ministry of Women and Child Development regarding reporting of sexual abuse of young boys
The Concerned for Working Children welcome the Government of India’s direction to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) to collect gender-disaggregated data on sexual assaults against children. This is an urgent and long-delayed need, in order to ensure that efficient preventive and rehabilitative measures are put in place. However, CWC joins several other activists and organisations to highlight the concern that sending out a direction to the NCRB is not enough. A parallel process has to be initiated to ensure that all children, especially boys and transgender children, have access to an enabling and sensitive environment that supports them to open up about sexual abuse. Read our detailed response here: http://www.concernedforworkingchildren.org/news/2019/07/press-release-data-on-sexual-abuse-of-boys-must-compliment-supportive-and-sensitive-mechanisms-that-help-boys-report-the-abuse/
CWC’s response to the recent move by the Ministry of Human Resources Development to monitor the social media of young people
The Concerned for Working Children condemns the recent move by MHRD to monitor young people’s social media movement as it is highly unconstitutional and impinges upon the right to freedom of speech and expression of young adults of the country. This is a deliberate move to wield the stick to Social Media tools which are currently the most accessible tool of expression for many. A petition has been created on the digital platform Change.org to garner support from citizens that empathise with the larger concerns of this order. Read our detailed response here:
Influencing the development of the protocol for rescue and rehabilitation of working children
CWC participated in the consultation on the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Rescue, Rehabilitation and Repatriation of Child Labour, developed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in April 2019. CWC shared a detailed critique with the Karnataka State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), highlighting the absolute lack of participation and agency of working children that this SOP addresses in the entire process. CWC also drew concern to the raid and rescue mechanism that several provisions in the SOP promoted, highlighting that children have reported these to be very traumatic experiences for them. A strong argument was put forth that many provisions in the SOP were in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and in fact, would further criminalise and marginalise working children.
