Seema (name changed), 19, who was trafficked from Jharkhand when she was a child and rescued in 2011 when she was 12 is now studying in a college pursuing part II of Political Science Honours.
On Saturday, she along with five other such trafficking or child marriage survivors was given cycles and the post of Info Lady at ‘Swabhiman Betiyan’ a programme organized by Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and ATSEC.
Talking about her life Seema said, “I did not remember my village so I was sent to stay at a shelter home in Khunti by the Child Welfare Committee. Since then I completed schooling and I am now pursuing college education.”
Along with studying, Seema in her free time visits nearby villages and spreads awareness against human trafficking. “I go to Tangar and Chauri village for spreading awareness. Now, that I have been given cycle and a kit explaining various government schemes my work would be easier,” she said.
A total of 10 girls will be given the post of Info Lady. BKS president Sanjay Mishra said, “The girls will move from village to village spreading awareness about child rights and various schemes of government for women and children. In pilot project 10 girls have been selected and soon 45 girls will be roped in.”
The issue of child rights was discussed elaborately in the programme. Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) Director, DK Saxena said, “We get rescued children back home and rehabilitated but we need to work towards prevention at the initial stage itself so that the children are not trafficked.”
Saxena informed that a total of 20,000 village level child protection committees have been established across the State, which are preparing a database of missing and vulnerable children so that steps can be taken to locate or empower them.
He said, “To ensure that the girls are not trafficked or their rights are not violated, we need to empower each girl financially and socially so they can take care of themselves. For this we have launched the Tejaswini Yojna which is functional in 17 districts of the State.”
The scheme targets the girls between 14 to 24 years of age and provides them life skills and vocational training. “There are around 20 lakh girls in this age group in the State of which at least 10 lakh have to be provided life skills. The life skills include information about their rights and protection, health and nutrition and financial literacy,” Saxena said.
Appreciating the Tejaswini Yojna, chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Priyank Kanoongo who was the chief guest at the programme pointed out that children between the ages of 14 to 18 years are most susceptible to trafficking or child marriage. “Till age of 14 the children get free education under Right to Education Act, but once they are out of school they are considered non productive. As a result, the parents either send these children to work or marry them off,” Kanoongo said.
Under the Juvenile Justice Act, a principal has to report to the district authority in case a child is out of school for more than 30 days. NCPCR is developing a portal which will come into effect within a month where quarterly reports from district level will be collected.
