Child trafficking in SA alarming

Indian rights activist and Nobel winner Kailash Satyarthi yesterday expressed deep concern at child trafficking within and across the border of South Asian countries, particularly in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal.

Some girls are deceived and some kidnapped by the trafficking gangs, he told a seminar in Dhaka. "They know how to operate... They then sell these girls to other middlemen, to the brothel,” he added. “These girls were sold very cheap.”

Satyarthi, who dedicated his life for establishment of child rights at a young age and shared the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with teenage Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, also talked of the attitude of the region's people to child labour.

South Asians are very proud of the diversity of their cultures and religions, he said. "But it is unfortunate that sometimes we feel very happy of having a domestic child at our house. It's a shame that our children are not going to school.”

The activist said people did not feel ashamed that they tortured a child domestic help. “They can endure a dog's entry into their rooms but not a girl or boy's [who is a domestic help]. We have a double standard in our life.”

Mentioning that people blame poverty for these children working as domestic helps, Satyarthi asked, "Who is responsible for their poverty?"

He also referred to child marriage as a crime. To fight the vice, he called for help of religious leaders, teachers, and civil society members.

Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum organised the seminar at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh.

Separately, the activist who gave up his engineering career for freeing children from bonded labour shared how he was disturbed by inequality, especially against children and how they were forced to work under harsh conditions, reported BSS.

When he was 25 or 26, he started a journal called "The Struggle Shall Continue". One day while he was sitting in his office, a frail old man came knocking at his door saying, "Babuji help me. Help me free my daughter."

His daughter Sabbo was sold to a brothel and Satyarthi went to free her. He could not do so and got beaten up. But he thanked Sabbo because she ignited a fire within him, which drove him to free over 84,000 children from labour and start a worldwide movement against child slavery.

He shared the story during his lecture, "Education for Sustainable Development", at Dhaka University, hosted by the social sciences faculty.

Highlighting the role of education in development, Satyarthi said development could sustain only if education was ensured for all.

He urged youths to follow the 3D rules -- Dream, Discover and Do.

He said he would soon be launching a programme under which 100 million youths would be gathered together to free and rehabilitate 100 million children enslaved around the world. One youth will be responsible for bringing change in one child's life, he added.

Addressing a separate conference on "Right to Education" in the LGED auditorium, the Nobel winner described financing as a major challenge in the education sector in developing countries where millions of children drop out of school, BSS reported.

He also saw fundamentalism as a big challenge in some Asian and African countries, particularly for female education.

Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) and Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) jointly organised the conference.