Kailash Satyarthi calls on faith institutions to act on child marriages

Stating that the United Nations General Assembly’s decision to eradicate child labour, trafficking and bonded labour by 2025 could not be achieved due to different reasons, Kailash Satyarthi shares his views on multiple issues with S. Sandeep Kumar.

Hyderabad: Stressing that child marriages were not limited to India and were a matter of concern in many developing countries, Nobel peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi appealed to faith institutions to take up the responsibility of controlling child marriages.

Stating that the United Nations General Assembly’s decision to eradicate child labour, trafficking and bonded labour by 2025 could not be achieved due to different reasons, Kailash Satyarthi shares his views on multiple issues with S. Sandeep Kumar.

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Q: Child marriages are continuing despite laws

A: India has one of the best laws for controlling child marriages in the world. Unfortunately, it is not implemented properly. Such a law does not exist even in the United States. All religious heads should issue instructions prohibiting priests, maulvis, pastors and others from performing child marriages.

This apart, the marriage age limit for girls should be increased to 21 years as biological, neurological, socio-psychological studies have observed that even at 18 years, girls do not get matured enough for marriage. Likewise, the age limit for Right to Education needs to be increased from 14 to 18 years.

Q: Telangana’s Kalyana Lakshmi programme has aided in controlling child marriages

A: Yes, it is a good scheme but State governments alone cannot eradicate this problem as it is a national stigma. Every individual should play a role in controlling child marriages.

Q: UNICEF has set a target to eradicate child labour, trafficking and bonded labour by 2025

A: It is true but unfortunately this target cannot be achieved and there is no excuse and justification for this. The number of child labourers has increased from 152 million to 162 million between 2016 and 2020. In these four years, the world has become richer by 11 trillion dollars but every single day, 10,000 African children are pushed into child labour, trafficking and slavery. This is unacceptable.

Q: Many POCSO cases are pending and conviction rate is slow

A: Telangana established the first POCSO court in Warangal. It was a commendable initiative and drawing inspiration, other States have also established the courts. Regarding conviction rate, awareness among people is key. We are implementing Child Marriage Free India, a massive awareness programme in 300 districts across the country.

Q: Ragi malt is being served to government school children for breakfast in Telangana

A: Nutrition is directly connected with overall health, including mental and intellectual capacity of children. Any nutritional supplement programme being taken up in the State is welcomed. Most importantly, it motivates parents to send their children to school.

Q: The transformation of Telangana

A: Hyderabad is known as a IT hub but there is lot of transformation in the State in other fields and it is remarkable. I have been visiting Rangareddy, Narayanpet and other areas. There is a lot of awareness on education even among the poor.

We have been working with Operation Muskaan and Bharosa programmes, which are very successful and need to be replicated in other areas. The Rachakonda Police have done a job in controlling child labour and bonded labour in brick kiln units.