Will For Children

Before I began to work for the rights of children, I constantly found myself struggling with a 'why'.Why are some children born to work at the cost of their freedom and childhood?Why do the economic conditions of parents determine a child's education and future?Why are we employing children of the poor to make clothes and toys for children of the better-off?My articles published in the 1980s helped raise critical questions on child labour, trafficking of children, sexual exploitation, the lack of education, and more. This compilation of articles has contributed towards laying the theoretical foundation and created a mass movement for the rights of children. Over the past 36 years, this movement has led to the establishment of institutions of governance, national and transnational policies for the protection of children, and the main streaming of child rights on the global development agenda.As you have picked up this book, it is my sincere hope that you will exercise your right to ask questions and your will to help the children of the world. —Kailash Satyarthi“Once, a fire broke out in the forest. All the birds and beasts, including the lion, the King of the Jungle, started running for their lives. In the midst of the chaos, the lion caught sight of a hummingbird flying towards the fire.Shocked, the lion asked, “What are you trying to do?”The hummingbird, indicating its beak, said, “I am carrying a drop of water to extinguish the fire.”The lion was amused. It said, "How can you douse a fire with just a drop? But, the hummingbird was unshaken. It said: “I am doing my bit.”During my Nobel acceptance speech, when I lost some papers for my speech, I was reminded of this story that I then narrated to the audience. Join me in my movement for children and do your bit, like the little, brave hummingbird.—Kailash Satyarthi__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Contents's Note — 5The Dream of Freedom1. Saving Childhood — 152. Children and Democracy — 403. Child Labour Explained — 100Childhood Freedom1. Domestic Child Labour: Slavery in Disguise — 1212. Human Rights and Child Labour — 1253. Child Labour and Millennium Development — Goals: Connecting the Dots — 1354. Need of the Hour: A Child-Friendly Mindset — 1405. Will Domestic Labourers Get Justice? — 1456. Transforming Bihar into a Child-Friendly State — 1497. Why is Child Labour Not Justifiable? — 1538. Making India Child Labour Free — 1589. Bringing Accountability into the Movement — 162Childhood on Sale1. Child Trafficking and Sociology — 1712. The Plight of the Missing Child — 1773. The Role of Law in Breaking the Nexus of — Trafficking and Exploitation of Children — 1804. Fighting Child Trafficking in Assam — 1865. Saving Children from Trafficking in the Time of — Calamity — 192Protecting Childhood1. Wanted: Laws to Protect Childhood — 1992. Child Rights and Law: Going Beyond the Books — 203The Chains of Slavery will Break1. Our Strength Lies in Our Laws — 2112. Government Accountability and Sensitisation — 2163. Towards an Effective Juvenile Justice Act — 2224. Disregard for the Laws Protecting Child — Labourers — 2275. Adopting a Friendly Attitude Towards — Victimised Children — 2326. Madiba: A Source of Inspiration for Child Rights — Movements — 236Education is the key to freedom1. The Role of Education — 2432. Right to Education: In Pursuit of a Dream — 2503. Education for an Equal and Equitable World — 2564. The Marginalised Tibetan Children — 260Children and Religion1. Let's Not Give Children a Communal Identity — 2672. Can You not See Little Lord Ram Begging on the — Streets of Ayodhya? — 2723. Ram Lalla in an Identity Crisis — 2764. God's Religion and Social Change — 281