Category: Women and Children

Intricacies of abolishing child labour

The Hans India | Dr MOHAN KANDA | April 10, 2019

Much has been said and written about the scourge of child labour, worldwide as well as in India. The malady has had a chequered history for centuries, with societies and governments adopting approaches suited to the ethos and culture of their environments at different times.

rom the second half of the previous century, however, it has been accepted universally that employing children for work is a pernicious practice. As a result, several measures have been taken, legal, policy and operational, by various countries including our own.

In the strict and formal sense, child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives them of childhood, prevents them from attending school and harms them physically, mentally, socially and morally. Read more

Over 19 million kids in Bangladesh at risk from climate change

Down To Earth || Kiran Pandey, Madhumita Paul || 05 April 2019

UNICEF report says nearly 86% of these children living in 17 districts are under threat from floods and cyclones

More than 19 million children in Bangladesh, from 20 of the country’s 64 districts, are most vulnerable to the disastrous consequences of climate change, warned the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in a new report.

Over five million of them are under the age of five and the changing climate is already undermining their lives and diminishing their prospects for a better future. Children staying on the coastline facing the Bay of Bengal and several more remote inland areas are the most vulnerable, notes the report. Read more

Seven decades after Independence, many in Odisha’s villages still drink contaminated water from pits

First Post || Manish Kumar || Mar 27, 2019

A large section of the rural populace of Keonjhar district in Odisha is struggling for access to a basic survival need.

A network of 60 reporters set off across India to test the idea of development as it is experienced on the ground. Their brief: Use your mobile phone to record the impact of 120 key policy decisions on everyday justify; what works, what doesn’t and why; what can be done better and what should be done differently. Their findings — straight and raw from the ground — will be combined in this series, Elections on the Go, over a course of 100 days.

Keonjhar: Seven decades of Independence and other progress notwithstanding, a large section of the rural populace of Keonjhar district in Odisha is struggling for access to a basic survival need — safe drinking water. To make matters worse, this Lok Sabha constituency, which has the maximum operational mines in the state, is also being ravaged by miners, who are minting money at the cost of natural resources. Read more

Now women can work in underground mines, says government

The Indian Express|| Published: February 4, 2019 5:59:59 pm

Women have been allowed to work in underground mines, and would be deployed in open cast mines during night hours also, as part of the government’s efforts to create more employment opportunities for them.

The labour ministry has issued new rules permitting women to work in opencast mines during 7 pm to 6 am.

Earlier, employment of women in underground, opencast mines were restricted under Mines Act, 1952. Read more

Naisargik, Ayushman make state proud on national stage

BHUBANESWAR: At 16, when most children his age is into social media and mobile phones, Naisargik is busy finding about the harmful effects of hexavalent chromium and ways to prevent it from getting into the food chain. His persistence helped him bag the prestigious Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (national child award) in the innovation category from President on Tuesday.

Lenka is a Class X student of DAV Public School, Unit-VIII, in Bhubaneswar. During his research, he used a bacteria (Anabaena Cyllindrica) to absorb chromium from soil and water. Read more

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