'My parents let him tear into me. They sent a doctor to stitch it tight. Then, they sent another person to tear into me.' Said a girl who was rescued from forced prostitution. She was just 12 years old. She was given steroids to make her look elderly so that their business will be more happening. If the quote of this news item surprises you, let me tell you that this is nothing new and the torture our kids face day to day doesn't stop with this.
Initially, they killed girls as infants. The rest who survived this death threat and managed to live a few years were compelled into child marriage. It wasn't a problem just for the girl, was it? Both the girl and the boy were deprived of their innocence, childhood and choice of living. If this took decades for this to diminish, it is taking us forever to eradicate child labour. At least, are these kids healthy enough to labour? No, most of them don't get proper food, even basic hygiene becomes a fantasy for them. They suffer from various deficiencies and health issues. They are also deprived of education which is every child's right. Are the children, who, fortunately, escape labouring, eat decent food and go to school, happy and safe? How can they be happy when people, right from bus driver to their school teacher, abuse them taking advantage of their incapability of understanding what's happening to them. Above all, it is disheartening to read children being raped and traded. This is the pathetic state of children in India. If they say children are the building blocks of the future, they have to be taken care of. If this is the state of children then we can well imagine the way our future is getting shaped.
Let us stand up for our future. Let us take care of the children around.
On this day, let's be sensible and be sensitized towards problems faced by children. Lets give enough empowerment to our children. That would be a real essence of observing Children's day.
Happy Children's day! :)
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