The demand was the outcome of a series of seven workshops organized at all the divisional headquarters since August 31, in which over 900 children had participated.
In the wake of upcoming election, children from Rajasthan, who will be eligible for voting after a few years, placed their demand before the political parties in Jaipur on Tuesday for including crucial issues in the manifestos of parties.
Over 200 children and representatives of more than 100 organizations placed a charter of demands before the political parties at a state-level conference. The demand was the outcome of a series of seven workshops organized at all the divisional headquarters since August 31, in which over 900 children had participated.
“Children below 18 years of age comprise 41% of the population of Rajasthan. If the teenagers till the age of 19 years are included in this population, the figures touch 49.6%, requiring special steps for their holistic development by the government and the society at large,” Vijay Goyal of Resource Institute for Human Rights (RIHR), organizer of the campaign with support from UNICEF, said. “Without an effective intervention for improving their situation, children cannot become responsible citizens of tomorrow,” he added.
The demands of children pertained to their education, protection, development at Anganwadi Centres, health care services in the government hospitals, implementation of laws and programs for their welfare and their regular interaction with the elected representatives and political leaders. Significantly, the children demanded that all the political parties should establish separate cells for them.
The political leaders present on the occasion supported the demands from children and said that their parties would include children’s issues in their manifestos.
“An effective platform had been created for children who were raising the issues of their basic rights. The problems pertaining to children were eye-opening for the politicians, and I promise that to refer the charter of demands to BJP’s manifesto committee,” State Women’s Commission Chairperson Suman Sharma said.
On the occasion, children from different districts, including the deaf and dumb students of schools and colleges, raised the critical issues which were affecting their growth and development. They also challenged the traditions of educational opportunities being denied to the girls and children forced into unwanted marriages at the tender age.
Workshops Held
Over 200 children and representatives of more than 100 organizations placed a charter of demands before the political parties at a state-level conference. The demand was the outcome of a series of seven workshops held at all the divisional headquarters since August 31, in which over 900 children had participated.
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