Daughter's Day... What's that?

Footloose & Fancy Free: the uncensored version

This weekend the ‘jolly pages’ of a local English daily tried to tell us that the hep and happening creatures were busy planning mega splurges for Daughters’ Day.

And when’s that? This Sunday, of course. Some people dreamed up this idea around the year 2011, to celebrate a new ‘daughters’ day’ in India on the fourth Sunday of September, and of late, the sellers of soaps, shampoos, baubles and Barbie dolls have yet another excuse to pick parents’ pockets.

So what’s this ‘daughters day’ tamasha all about? Who should know better than the women in the NGO sector? So one phoned Bihar’s most prominent women’s organization, the Bihar Mahika Samakhya Society. “Daughters Day on Sunday? You’re not serious? We already have a women’s day, a day for the girl child, the One Billion Rising Campaign, and we initiated the Celebrate your daughter days all over the state. Whose idea was this one? Not the government of India, otherwise there would have been a circular to that effect!” That was their answer.


Thinking that UNICEF would probably be the best place to get an answer, one diligently rang up Nipurnh Gupta, the rights and media point person. If anyone should know about daughters days in the offing, it had to be Nipurnh. Anyway in the past week, she was behind a workshop for kids and cinema, and a two day regional conference that stressed the duty of the media to inform everyone about prompt and regular immunization of babies, especially daughters. Ms Gupta, hemmed and hawed a bit, and then said that if anyone came up with the idea of having a daughter’s day it was a good thing. “The more the idea that one should cherish daughters is brought into the discourse, somewhere it will impact the adverse sex ratio. Let’s ask parents whether they have really made sure that their baby daughters have received all the immunization? Has the child received DPT three times before she reaches 7 years of age? Has she received two doses of immunization for Japanese encephalitis before she reaches two years? What about Hepatitis B vaccine before her first birthday celebration?”



So, I decided to do a quick pop survey. Out popped my phone and I did a bit of screen tapping, and waited for the results.


Professor Muniba Sami what’sapped: “Daughter’s Day- this Sunday? For us every day is our daughter’s day.” Media professional Ann Mary John messaged, “Till date haven’t celebrated it, heard it was on the 28th, and I’m not sure that many of us are aware of this day. Marketing ploy?” Mehraz Haque, currently doing a PHD from Banaras Hindu University messaged: ‘Had no idea about this. Great. Wonderful opportunity to demand something from Daddy dear.”


So now, what's Daughter’s Day about? For the few with expendable incomes, it’s another reason to splurge and party; for those in the social work sector, it is another opportunity to drive home the point that daughters are not expendable, and to combat what they perceive as patriarchy and misogynist traditions; for the businessmen it’s a potential market to be exploited. For the harried middle class urban parents living in boxes called apartments, it’s a beautiful opportunity to stop for a moment and tell their little girls aged 5 to 50… that they are truly special.


Come on ye Fairy Godmothers! Celebrate that hardworking Cinderella. Pull her out of the pantry, wipe her face and give her a pair of glass slippers, take her on a ride to the Mall, waltz her into the food court. Treat her like a princess. Never Mind, she’ll be back among the pots and pans come Monday morning!


Author: Frank Krishner

Then there was Utthan...

The Utthan Programme has been regarded as an innovative venture in the ongoing push for the speedy and complete coverage of all Bihar’s children under the umbrella of Elementary education.


The programme, first piloted and supported by UNICEF in 2007, initially focussed on those among the Dalit communities who had the least indicators of development. Following the success of the pilot intervention and initial replication in selected districts, the state Government through BEPC decided to roll it out throughout Bihar. The target population was out of school children of primary school-going ages from the ‘Mahadalit’ castes. The range was soon expanded when the State Government extended the ‘Mahadalit’ nomenclature some relatively better off caste groups .

The programme has resulted in a significant increase in the enrolment numbers of Dalit children from the most depressed classes and in retention and performance statistics as well.

The programme has also faced varied challenges due to geopolitical and socio-cultural factors.

This review looks at the programme implementation at ground level, assess its strengths and opportunities and looks at its implications in the light of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the RTE Act 2009.

here's the link: this is a 40 page report....

BRIDGE TO SCHOOL

Frank Krishner

July 2009

Author: Frank Krishner

Bihar's RTE Dilemma

Background

The Right to Education Act, 2009 is a path-breaking piece of legislation that has widespread ramifications on the primary education delivery system. This Act will come into force on the first day of April, 2010. The Act calls for a substantial reworking and remodelling of the institutions and procedures at State level, as well as for the framing of rules under the Act that will ensure Primary Education coverage for every child in the state.

Objective

In order to effectively formulate the State Rules under the Act, a series of consultations have been organised by the Bihar Education Project Council with national experts, state implementation partners and decision makers and stakeholders.

The first consultation was held at State level on 18th and 19th February 2010 at Hotel Patliputra Ashok, Patna.



Mr Anjani Kumar Singh, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Human Resource Development introduced the aims and objectives of the Consultation.

Addressing the stakeholders present, he pointed out that the Act was an ambitious one, specifically in the context of Bihar. He stated that in the past decade and a half, the kind of development expected on the elementary education front didn’t happen due to multifarious reasons.

“We can see that, in respect to other states, our state was quite backward in student-teacher ratio, school rooms, quality, teacher training, and facilities for disabled children. In the past three to four years, we have taken some measures which have resulted in the improvement of the situation to a small extent, but the ideal platform for us to launch such an ambitious Act does not exist at present,” he said.

The RTE Act had already been passed and was expected to come into force on the first of April. Bihar would have to do a lot, and do a lot of new things to implement the provisions of the Act.

The Principal Secretary HRD urged the participants to examine the ramifications of the Act carefully and try to come up with solutions. He highlighted some of the challenges.

Parameters have changed a lot. For example it was quite difficult to bring the teacher-student ratio to 40:1. In the recent past, the government had appointed more than two lakh teachers, but even more teachers need to be appointed to attain that standard. If, in conformity with the Act, the ratio is made to 30:1, the question would be from where would three lakh teachers come? The Act calls for trained teachers, where would these teachers come from, he asked.

[The Act stipulates that EVERY child betweeen 6 and 14 MUST access school Compulsorily, and the STATE shall ensure this as the Act comes into force April 2010 ]

There are different categories of teachers at present, but under the Act all teachers would have to be trained and meet a nationally determined standard.

Stressing on the fact that the law had been passed and that there was no room to debate the provisions of the Act, he said that the Model Rules were a guideline along which individual states would frame the rules taking into consideration the local conditions, possibilities, and constraints.

He drew attention to the existence of implementation time frames within the Act, and asked the participants to deliberate on the ways and strategies that could be used to handle these time frames.

The Act calls for all schools to be registered with the Government, and the good thing about this would be that a minimum standard would have to be maintained in all schools. If these minimum standards were not maintained, then the schools would have their registration cancelled. He pointed out that there was a danger of harassment for private schools and complications in this context, and stresses the importance of evolving a system whereby implementation would be smooth and transparent.

It would be necessary to prioritise the areas of implementation, taking into consideration the priorities in the State. A workable time frame for the implementation of each aspect would have to be worked out.

One of the major challenges would be the fiscal aspect. Financial resources and allocation for different components would present a challenge.

He pointed out that currently education spending was about 15 percent over the budget allocation. The implementation of the new Act would weigh heavily on the state exchequer, and the challenge would be mobilising resources to meet the projected expenditure of approximately Rs 28,000 crore. He mentioned that even the developed states were finding it difficult to muster the resources required to implement the RTE act, and that it was generally felt that the Centre should contribute towards 90 percent of the resources required for implementation.

Mr Anjani Kumar urged the participants to come up with an implementable road map taking into consideration the ground realities of the State. He said that even though the issues thrown up by the RTE looked huge, it was not a time to be disheartened.

He said that the participants present represented a wide range: NGOs and pressure groups for educational reform, private schools, and stakeholders and it was his belief that the two day consultation would throw up useful recommendations that would help in a viable and priority based implementation road-map for Bihar.


Author: Frank Krishner
Frank Krishner documents several educational initiatives for UNICEF, the State Government agencies, and other International Organisations. This post and subsequent ones on the consultation are for the purpose of general awareness and for the response of the enlightened public.

If only we had the same opportunities….

Sadhu Manhji squats on the floor on the veranda of Bahuada primary school. He wipes the sweat of his forehead. Bare bodied and dusty, he has interrupted his work in the fields to come to the school and talk to us about the new initiatives for education happening within his community. He is a member of the VSS, the school education committee.

“This generation has opportunities to go to school that we never had. And all our Musahar people must realize this. The efforts of the government to give our children an education are sincere. Our own people must take advantage of this and demand for education,” he says.

Thanks to an initiative by local Mushahar youth called Navachar Kendras, backed by the State Government tHrough the SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan), 138 Musahar children of primary school going age have been identified, and all of these have been enrolled in school, he says.

“I did go to school. I remember that I was in class two when things began going against my education. We would have to walk for some distance and go to the school. We would have to pass the fields belonging to the land-owners. The farmers would tell us that we had no business going to school. The bigger boys who belonged to the farmer caste would threaten to break our legs if we went towards the school. My own parents, fearing for my safety, or even for their lives said that it was our lot to work in the fields and that we could never hope to have foolish dreams of becoming officers. This was how things were twenty five years ago.

“Today, I am a member of the School education committee in this village. Whatever these volunteers [Tola sevaks] are doing, they are helping the children complete their education. They are taking the children by the hand and making them sit in the classrooms. The teachers are accepting these Musahar children. In our time, we would have to sit at a distance from the rest of the students, because we were regarded as smelly and dirty,” says Sadhu Manjhi with feeling.

At Pitvans Mushari beside the Punpun river, a young man named Birju speaks up. “The Musahars have always been outside the social circle. Even though there were winds of change blowing all around us, they didn’t touch our lives.

“Not only me, but practically every male above ten or eleven in my family had to find some sort of means to survive– servant, helper, brick carrier, factory worker. If your parents are busy the whole day to scrape together a handful of food, how can you go to school? You are left to survive as best you can. I studied in the school for about three years, but reality took over. I had to earn my living, so dropped out.

But now, things are very different. I would want my children to go to the school. Because they will be able to benefit. In the evenings, the tola sevak will coach my children as well. It is wonderful that educated persons from our own community are engaged in this process. This is a positive move by the government. No doubt there are problems, but this is a beginning. I am happy to say that I urged my relatives to support the tola sevak Ganauri Manjhi. This child in my arms will also go to school one day. Instead of just complaining about how we are being neglected, it is our duty to become a part of our own children’s development,” Birju asserts.

Ninety Musahar children of primary school going age were identified from the Pitvans area and all have been placed within the school system.
Photos by Frank Krishner
1.Sadhu Manjhi [right] at Bahuada PS

2.Birju Manjhi

Author: Frank Krishner

Reaching the last child

Twenty one year old Naheed Parveen has discovered a new passion. Whenever she visits her friends and neighbours, she asks about the health and progress of the small children around. ‘I keep a look out for news of new born babies, so I can motivate their parents to immunise them against polio,” she says.
While the eastern Indian state of Bihar grapples with an alarming rise in the number of poliovirus infections in the past year, unreached children continue to remain vulnerable in certain pockets.
Naheed is one of the 300 community mobilisers under an expanded SMNet programme who help build a bridge between their communities and the programme, helping to break down resistance and ensure better quality operations and reach to vulnerable children.Two years ago, Naheed’s grandfather, a Muslim cleric, had a marked apathy towards the Pulse polio programme. Today, announcements about the usefulness of the vaccine are issued from his mosque in one of Bihar’s ‘vaccination unfriendly’ blocks.
“Two years ago, vaccinators would be chased away from this neighbourhood,” says Najma Parveen, the block mobilisation coordinator who inducted Naheed into the Polio social mobilisation network. “Naheed is a bright girl and a college student. Her grandfather is a respected religious figure. Our vaccination team, who often had to face verbal abuse and sometime physical threats in the past, now reaches infants in the same problem areas, because the Maulana’s granddaughter accompanies the vaccinator.
“It wasn’t easy for a girl with my family background to step out of the house. My father gave his permission grudgingly when I pointed out that the honorarium for the job would help me pay for my college books. My grandfather finally came round to understanding that the polio vaccine did not have any side effects like making babies barren in later life. So he allowed announcements about the polio programme to be made after religious gatherings at the mosque,” Naheed says.
A local woman says firmly, “We only allowed our children to receive vaccination because the Maulana’s granddaughter personally accompanied the vaccinator, and we have her word that the vaccine is safe.”
Naheed says that motivation is an ongoing task. “I also ensure that the new born babies receive the complete immunisation package by accompanying the mothers to the PHC.” In traditional Muslim households, the women refrain from moving out of the locality on their own.
If refusals to the polio vaccine in Bihar have come down to 0.1 percent over the past three months, it is largely because of the consistent efforts of community mobilisation coordinators, Block Mobilisation Coordinators and the SMnet teams.
Community mobilisation coordinators work with the womenfolk in the family on a regular basis, assessing their needs and devising localised strategies for outreach.
Shagufta Naaz, a CMC in the Tripolia locality of Gulzarbagh block overcame the resistance of traditional Muslim families by donning the burkha (hijab). Says Shagufta, “Women in my family don’t usually wear traditional Muslim clothing, as is the case in most middle class educated families. However, I realised that to successfully ensure complete coverage in my area, I would have to penetrate families with a very traditional mindset. When I began using the burkha, I found it far easier to achieve rapport. I was not treated with suspicion. There were 19 refusals in this area four months ago. As of today, there is only one family left uncovered, but I am sure that with a little help from the local community influencers, we will be able to vaccinate the last child within the next two days.”
Shazia, a CMC from the Sher Shah Gali area, holds non-formal classes for small children in front of her house. “Some women asked me if I could teach their small kids, and I agreed. After all, as an educated young person, spending an hour helping children is time well spent. It also helps me influence the women to look after the children better,” she says. Shazia states that several women have begun to have their children vaccinated when their husbands are out of the house. “Even if the husbands resist, the women have begun to understand the importance of protecting their children from the polio virus.”
“Local influencers are an asset to the polio communication campaign,” says Naheed, “the success of a mobilisation coordinator can be measured by the number of local leaders she can network with to come out and support the vaccination campaign. We also support Anganwadi workers to update the list of newborns so that ICDS services can also reach the children.”

Author: Frank Krishner

Meena teaches and entertains

60 children from 13 schools were invited to Abhivyakti 2008 to take part on a special Meena animation film appreciation workshop sponsored by Kalyanpur Cements, one of Bihar’s leading cement brands.

Abhivyakti is the bi-annual documentary and short film festival held at Ravi Bharati, Patna.

“I don’t think that only boys bully girls, the bigger girls in my school also bully smaller ones,” said Aditya Kymar of Don Bosco Academy.
“It is a very bad thing, teasing and making fun of girls. Big boys and naughty ones do it along the roads. If a girl has to pass that way, she will feel frightened. A girl who is harassed should complain to the teacher or her parents,” said Aparijata, a 14 year old girl from St. John’s Academy.

But what happens if the girl being teased belongs to a very weak section of society, and the boys who block her way to school belong to very powerful village families?
The students got together to enact their own version of the Meena film “Whose afraid of bullies”. In their story, the parents were powerless, and the teacher afraid to take action, but the children persuaded them to take the matter to the Panchayat.

The Meena animated series of films that raises several issues is an excellent value education tool, and this has been demonstrated by me several times at various AASRA Charitable trust media workshops for kids. The Meena workshops at the video festival at Ravi Bharati were a bi-annual feature, and we were always thankful to Mr Augustine Veliath, the Child Rights Officer at Patna (now in Delhi) for his unflinching support till 2004.

This year, Kalyanpur Cements, who are known to support local community building initiatives, readily helped us out with the required funds, thanks to Mr Faisal Alam, the Vice President sales and marketing. Mr alam visited the workshop and praised the kids for their presentation and acting skills.

The film “Ladki hi hoga” based on the desire for a male child, had the participants marking out things girls were not allowed to do at home and in the neighbourhood. The list was long indeed. Then the boys listed things that they were not allowed to do, even if they wished to: some said they were not allowed to enter the kitchen, others said that they were scolded if they touched a broom or washed clothes. “Girls can wear jeans, but we are never allowed to wear girls’ clothes,” piped up twelve year old Prem from Nav Deepti school. Aman Sinha from Don Bosco said that his mother insisted that he help with the housework, so he had the freedom to wash, cook, and clean.
The children worked out ways to end stereotyping in their neighbourhood and among friends. “In the modern world, it makes good sense to learn cooking, or else when we go away from home, we’ll face trouble,’ said the boys.

The film “Ek Ladki ki kahani” brought home discrimination because of lack of knowledge and fear, and enabled the participants to talk about HIV AIDS and broader issues of discrimination. The film on dowry, had the children discussing the futility of laws that cannot be imposed because they do not have general acceptance. It also brought about the misconception that city dwellers have that villagers are fools and out-of-date. The Meena film showed that an aware village headman and enlightened citizens could resist the machinations of crooked city dwellers.
The show was compered by Miller school student Alok Kumar. [in photo handing over the memento to Mr Faisal Alam]

The children had loads of fun. There were games, snacks and a wholesome lunch that was part of the proceedings.

Author: Frank Krishner

THE OTHER SIDE OF CHILDHOOD

The Other Side of Childhood
Frank Krishner

Whenever we talk of vulnerable kids, we call to mind a picture of a slum-dweller, a rag picker or a street child sweeping second-class railway carriages for a few paise. Actually, children face violence everyday, and most of them are not on the street or in slums, but in our own beautiful middle class homes.

The scandal of violence against children is a horror story too often untold. With malice and clear intent, violence is used against the members of our society least able to protect themselves—children in school, in orphanages, on the street, in refugee camps, in detention, in fields and factories and at home.

In every region of the world, India included, children are subject to unconscionable violence, most often perpetrated by the very individuals charged with their safety and well-being.

Children are exposed to human rights abuses. Contrary to all our lip-service to abolishing child labour and implementing the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, lakhs of Indian kids have no access to education, work long hours under hazardous conditions, are forced to become militants, or languish in orphanages or detention centres where they endure inhumane conditions and daily assaults on their dignity.


We made a promise 17 years ago

The year 2007 marks the seventeenth year of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child [CRC], the landmark treaty that guarantees children the right to be free from discrimination and arbitrary deprivation of liberty, to be protected in armed conflicts and torture or inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, to receive age-appropriate treatment in the justice system, and to be free from economic exploitation and other abuses, among other rights.

India was among the first countries to sign and ratify the convention [CRC]. Even though we have our economic and developmental constraints, thanks to committed activists who strongly advocated children’s rights issues, we have made some progress. But we have miles to go.

Do we take children seriously?

Abuses persist because children have few mechanisms for reporting violence and other human rights violations. Does your school have a grievance box where children can feel free to write their viewpoints, to disagree with how they are treated, and maybe to give suggestions? No? There you have it. The CRC clearly states that children have the right to be consulted on all matters that concern then, especially their development. No elected student council in your school clearly demonstrates that the genuine voices of your students are being stifled. The right to participate is being denied.

Schools are where the grossest of children’s rights violations take place. Corporal punishment [that means beating or whipping kids with rulers, sticks, canes, and even in one case reported to us by kids, thin electric wire that stings badly, but doesn’t leave marks] is still commonplace in schools. The teachers hold positions of power over the students. Instead of being benevolent guides and friends, many teachers are, to put it plainly, big bullies.

So what can the kids do in such situations? They may be reluctant to speak out for fear of reprisals. And because they are children, their complaints are often not taken seriously. Parents may be too busy, or they just may not want to take the trouble to meet the principal and register a complaint.

Even when children do make reports or abuse is exposed, perpetrators [usually the teacher] are rarely investigated or prosecuted. Those in a position to take action may be complicit in the abuse, reluctant to discipline or prosecute a colleague, or fearful of negative publicity. School principals are particularly shy of addressing this problem. At times, they may be actually afraid of the teacher! Other teachers who witness abuse by their own colleagues and attempt to report it may be dismissed for speaking up.

Rights-based education

The CRC which India is a signatory to and therefore must comply with clearly states that children [persons who have not attained the age of 18 years] have a right to an education, and primary education should be compulsory (required) and free. Secondary education should be available to everyone and governments should ensure that no one is excluded because of poverty.

Article 28 of the CRC lays down that discipline in schools should respect the child’s human dignity by following a spirit of understanding and tolerance and never causing physical or mental injury. Yet, how many times do teachers [ and even parents and caregivers] cause severe mental and psychological damage to children by inflicting verbal abuse and criticism meant to crush them, or give them a sense of low-self esteem?

Article 29 of the CRC says that education should develop a child’s personality, talents and abilities to the fullest. It should also encourage him or her to respect parents, human rights, the environment, and their own and other cultures. An Anglo-Indian child has an equal right to know about his culture through the school system as a Muslim child, a Nepali child, or a Buddhist child. If the school system is not supportive of the other sub-cultures within India or gives a distorted picture of the cultures of other lands or people, it’s in violation of the CRC.

Children have the right to learn and use the language and customs of their family, whether or not these are shared by the majority of the people in the country where he or she lives, according to article 30 of the CRC.

Last but not least, article 31 of the CRC says kids have a right to relaxation and play and to take part in cultural, artistic and leisure activities appropriate for their age. The Convention does not specify exactly what 'appropriate' activities might be for different age groups.

Education should be a joyful experience. Let’s help build a child-friendly environment in our schools by encouraging children to have their voices heard, and by taking them seriously. This is how we can avoid violence against children and abuse.


[Published TOI Patna, booklet] 2007
-------------