Tag: Kailash Satyarthi

  • Bachpan Bachao Andolan moves towards child marriage-free Uttarakhand

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: With an aim to end child marriage in India by 2030, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, organised a state consultation in collaboration with the Home Department of the Uttarakhand government.

    Underlining the importance of collective efforts of all stakeholders to combat child marriage and at the same time emphasising that education is a major tool to help completely eradicate child marriage, state Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Radha Raturi said, “To ensure that child marriage is effectively fought and combated, we need to create a collective action plan and we also need to work with vulnerable children to ensure that no injustice is done with them”.

    On this occasion, all the stakeholders deliberated through discussions and made a roadmap to make Uttarakhand child marriage free.

    “Last year, over 76000 women in 7028 villages across the country took to the streets to raise their voice against child marriage in just one day”, said Dhananjay Tingal, executive director of BBA, adding that “to fight and completely eradicate child marriage, we need a multi-pronged and multi-pronged strategy”.

    State Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi also signed an oath to join the campaign for child marriage-free Uttarakhand. (Photo | Express)

    Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar discussed various challenges in the way of tackling the issue of child marriage and acknowledged the urgency of implementing ideas to tackle child marriage. “It is ironic that when we are fighting this social evil, child marriage is socially accepted in the society, while it is morally and legally wrong,” DGP Ashok Kumar said.

    Stressing the need for a united approach to fighting child marriage, Prashant Arya, Additional Secretary, Women Empowerment and Child Development, said, “Child marriage has deep roots in our society on one hand, but at the same time we have to make everyone aware that this social evil affects children, it destroys not only their childhood but their entire life”.

    According to the 2011 census, there are 51,57,863 girls in India and of these, around 54,858 were married before the age of 18 in Uttarakhand. This is a cause of serious concern and requires urgent action to protect young girls from the evil of child marriage. The National Family Health Survey-V (NFHS 2019-21) reports that nationally, 23.3% of women in the 20-24 age group were married before attaining the age of 18. Whereas, Uttarakhand reported that 9.8% of women in the same age group were married before the age of 18.

    DEHRADUN: With an aim to end child marriage in India by 2030, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, organised a state consultation in collaboration with the Home Department of the Uttarakhand government.

    Underlining the importance of collective efforts of all stakeholders to combat child marriage and at the same time emphasising that education is a major tool to help completely eradicate child marriage, state Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Radha Raturi said, “To ensure that child marriage is effectively fought and combated, we need to create a collective action plan and we also need to work with vulnerable children to ensure that no injustice is done with them”.

    On this occasion, all the stakeholders deliberated through discussions and made a roadmap to make Uttarakhand child marriage free.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “Last year, over 76000 women in 7028 villages across the country took to the streets to raise their voice against child marriage in just one day”, said Dhananjay Tingal, executive director of BBA, adding that “to fight and completely eradicate child marriage, we need a multi-pronged and multi-pronged strategy”.

    State Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi also signed an oath to join the campaign for child marriage-free Uttarakhand. (Photo | Express)

    Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar discussed various challenges in the way of tackling the issue of child marriage and acknowledged the urgency of implementing ideas to tackle child marriage. “It is ironic that when we are fighting this social evil, child marriage is socially accepted in the society, while it is morally and legally wrong,” DGP Ashok Kumar said.

    Stressing the need for a united approach to fighting child marriage, Prashant Arya, Additional Secretary, Women Empowerment and Child Development, said, “Child marriage has deep roots in our society on one hand, but at the same time we have to make everyone aware that this social evil affects children, it destroys not only their childhood but their entire life”.

    According to the 2011 census, there are 51,57,863 girls in India and of these, around 54,858 were married before the age of 18 in Uttarakhand. This is a cause of serious concern and requires urgent action to protect young girls from the evil of child marriage. The National Family Health Survey-V (NFHS 2019-21) reports that nationally, 23.3% of women in the 20-24 age group were married before attaining the age of 18. Whereas, Uttarakhand reported that 9.8% of women in the same age group were married before the age of 18.

  • RPF signs MoU with Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s Children Foundation to end child trafficking

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Railway Protection Force (RPF) has taken a cudgel to curb human trafficking in the country through railways in association with Association for Voluntary Action (AVA).

    The Association for Voluntary Action, which is also known by the name Bachpan Bachao Andolan, is associated with Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s Children Foundation. The RPF signed an MoU on Friday to work on the project to end human trafficking through railways in the country, working effectively under railways.

    ADG PR (Railway) Rajiv Jain told the media on Friday that more than 50,000 children have been rescued by the RPF under “Operation Nanhe Frishte” from across the country since 2018 working with different stakeholders.

    Jain said the RPF has recently also launched a nationwide drive against trafficking, called “Operation AAHT (Action against Human Trafficking)” to take stringent action against human trafficking through rail. Jain said more than 1400 minors, including 298 minor girls, have been rescued recently from the clutches of traffickers under it.

    Besides all this, the RPF has also set up Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) at more than 740 locations across India to step up surveillance and act against the human-trafficking in the coordination of other agencies in this field.

    Recently, RPF DG Sanjay Chander had discussed MoU with Rajni Sibal- CEO of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) in presence of Kailash Satyarthi. Finally, the MoU was signed on Friday. The RPF personnel deployed at railway stations and trains are strategically positioned to intercept the trafficking before the victim reaches the destination and the exploitation starts.

    Meanwhile, the RPF sources said that high surveillance and random checks are conducted in trains coming from the northeast sides to Mumbai and other northern and southern states. “Whenever we see children or anyone in suspicious conditions travelling in train, we intercept them”, a senior RPF official said.

    The Indian Railway is the primary transporter for the nation and therefore is a major route for human traffickers.

    “The RPF personnel are strategically positioned to intercept the trafficking before the victim reaches the destination and the exploitation starts”, Jain said, adding that the RPF can supplement the nation’s efforts to curb human trafficking with its pan India strategic positioning and reach.

  • ‘Increase in reporting of crime cases good sign’: Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi on Saturday said that increase in the reporting of crime is a good sign and it reflects an increased faith in the system by the people.

    “This is a good thing that awareness is increasing. The rise in the reporting of crime is a good sign. It shows that people’s faith in the system is growing,” he said.

    Satyarthi was delivering a lecture on ‘Justice for Every Child, Role of Police and Civil Society’, organised at the Rajasthan Police Academy on the occasion of Rajasthan Police Foundation Day.

    He said that many crimes go unreported, and children, in particular, are scared to confide in anyone if they face harassment.

    Satyarthi said that a child-friendly atmosphere should be promoted in the country and religions should also be more child-friendly.

    “There should be such an atmosphere in the country as when the trouble strikes, a Hindu girl can enter a mosque and be assured of her safety by a maulvi. Similarly, if a Muslim girl finds herself in trouble, she should be able to seek help in a temple, and priest should worship her like he worships goddess Durga,” he said.

    Satyarthi said that police are the first face of governance and they have a stricter moral responsibility than mentioned in their manual.

    Citing a study, Satyarthi said that the injured who were given good initial treatment by doctors and police felt safer, whereas those that were met with unkindness, feared they will not survive.

    He said that police play an important role in upholding the dignity of the Constitution through their conduct.

    DGP M L Lather said that the time it takes to solve cases lodged under POCSO Act has come down in the state, with many even resulting in awarding of death penalty.

    Earlier in the day, State Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot inspected a parade on the RPA ground and honoured award-winning police personnel.

    He also addressed the police personnel after inspecting the parade and said that a police officer should ensure the protection of life, property, and honour of people.

    Gehlot said that the state government has taken effective decisions towards strengthening and modernising of the police force.

    “Several steps have also been taken to increase the efficiency of the police. There is no shortage of resources,” he said.