Creating a Child Policy for Uttarakhand
State
Recommendations
from Members of the Mountain Children's Forum
From 18-21 May, 135 young people from around Uttarakhand gathered in Dehradun to start the dialog on creating a Child Policy for the state. These are their recommendations:
The Mountain Children’s Forum is an empowered organization of mountain
children from the 13 districts of the state of Uttarakhand. Some 7,500
children in the state are working together through Bal Panchayats (children’s
groups). The Mountain Children’s Forum was established four years
ago on 21st May 2002. From 18-21 May 2006, 135 children gathered in Dehradun
to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the founding of the MCF
A month prior to coming to Dehradun, we have been discussing with the members of our MCF groups what our state’s Child Policy—which has not yet been formulated—should look like. For the past two days, we have been sharing those conversations with our fellow delegates at this conference. After discussing each of the issues carefully, we have selected some issues that we would like to place as policy recommendations before the Government of the State of Uttarakhand.
It is the request of all the members of the Mountain Children’s Forum that the Government of Uttarakhand consider these suggestions when formulating a Child Policy for the state. Thank You.
We are presenting these suggestions within the context of the 4 major Rights of the Child:
The
Right to an Identity
- It should be ensured that the birth of every child should be registered at the village level.
- Children should know the exact date of their birth and have a birth certificate to prove it.
- All children have a right to be born whether boy or girl, therefore female feticide should be banned.
- Every child should receive complete immunizations.
- So that we can have access to health care, quality health facilities should be available at the village level.
- There should be no kind of discrimination or preference among us. We should all have an equal opportunity to progress.
- We should get nutritional food.
The
Right to Safety
- We should have a safe family and living environment.
- We should not be drawn into social or political conflicts.
- The right to safety should be specially given to girls. To enable them to protect themselves they should be provided self-defense classes in school.
- Arrangements should be made to provide information for girls about female health and hygiene separately from the boys.
- There should be a ban on children under the age of 18 driving a vehicle.
- Neglect of children by their family or other responsible persons should be a punishable offence.
- In the village we should have some kind of help line available to us so that we can seek help in case of an emergency.
- Child labour should be banned from our society. Arrangements should be made for the rehabilitation of children who are currently forced to work.
- During a disaster, facilities should be available to help and support children especially.
The
Right to Development
- Schools should be available even in distant villages. All schools should be equipped with adequate educational materials, sports/play equipment, and computers.
- We should have the opportunity to advance and progress in our lives based on our individual skills and abilities. Schools should provide curriculums to meet these different needs. Thus if a child has a talent for vocational education, he/she should be provided with that type of education.
- The quality of education in government schools need to be improved.
- Children who have dropped out of school should be supported and provided with opportunities to study and gain knowledge so that they too have the right to develop.
- We should have opportunities and time for play and entertainment as well.
- The state should provide support and assistance for physically handicapped children.
The
Right to Participation
- We should have the right to participate and share our views in village council meetings.
- An environment should be established through which we can easily place our concerns before society and the government.
- We should have the right to take leadership roles in various activities in the community and our children’s groups should be recognized and respected in our communities.
- When schools have a guardians/parent teacher meeting, children should also be included and allowed to participate in the discussion.
- We should have the right to participate in our family’s decisions.
- We should have the right to speak to Government officials and other community leaders.
- On a governance level, we should always be consulted when policies that affect us are formulated.
- Our help and support should be enlisted for any activity or social work that is to be carried out in the village or in society.
- We should have the right to be treated as equals especially in the case of inheritance.
Requested
by
The Members of the Mountain Children’s Forum
21 May 2006
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
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| A
representative from Bagrihaat, Pithoragarh, describes the accomplishments
of the Pithoragarh MCF groups. |
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| Two
delegates from Chamba perform a traditional dance for the inauguration
of the conference. |
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| Delegates formed small discussion groups to talk about the issues they wanted to see addressed by the state's Child Policy. |
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| Following
their discussion, each group presented its conclusions to the rest
of the delegates, answering questions, and defending their suggestions. |
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| The
serious discussions were leavened by games and songs as well as a
visit from puppet Jochim Chacha (Uncle Jochim), who helped introduce
the children to the mission of the MCF and this meeting. |
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| In the linkages game, a length of string helped the children understand the connections between policies and rights. |
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| The participants surround Cyril Raphael, Chief Functionary of Shri Bhuvneshwari Mahila Ashram. |
The children pose for a picture with Radha Raturi, Uttarakhand Secretary of Women and Child Development, Social Welfare, and Finance, outside the Aketa Hotel, where the conference was held. Ms. Raturi has asked the District Magistrates in each district of Uttarakhand to commit to meeting with the children of the MCF at least twice a year and has promised that the children's recommendations will be considered when Uttarakhand drafts its Child Policy.
Return
to Policy Workshop Main Page
The
Mountain Children's Forum Desk
Phone: 91-135-6532937 Email: mcfglobal @ mymountains
. org
Postal Address: 63-A Vyom Prasth, G.M.S Road, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
248001, India