VIJAYAWADA: “Despite country witnessing progress in all fields, governments have failed to curb the menace of child labour and women trafficking,” said Nobel laureate and children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.
Satyarthi was here in the city on Monday to participate in the ‘Break the Silence’ programme organised by Vivekananda Youth Force at Tagore Library. Speaking on the occasion, he said that it is a shame that there is no protection for women and children in a nation like India where we worship Durga, Kali and Saraswati as goddesses. At any moment, a girl child or a woman is being kidnapped or molested which is a big threat to the society.
Satyarthi called upon the NGOs to create awareness in the society about child rights. According to a survey, about 210 million jobs can be created for adults. “Instead of employing children in their workplace, the firms should focus on providing livelihood to the needy adults for bringing down the unemployment ratio across the globe,’’ he suggested.
Representatives of government child welfare, labour department and various NGOs were also present on the occasion. Later, Collector B Lakshmikantham along with a few child labourers met Kailash Satyarthi in a hotel. He gave a presentation on the initiatives being taken by the district administration in eradicating child labour.