MANGALURU: Now, Kavalu Samitis (Vigilance Committee for Women and Child Protection) or the Women and Child Protection Committees will also come up in urban areas to address issues like child marriage, child labour, school dropouts, and violence against children and women.
These Kavalu Samitis are already established at every gram panchayat level. However, there was a demand for similar committees having members of local bodies, NGOs and civic society in all urban local bodies. Considering their demand, the state government issued a circular on November 26, directing all the urban local bodies to constitute the Kavalu Samitis to prevent child and women trafficking, child marriages and protection of child rights.
As per the circular issued, the head or president of the urban local body, be it the city corporation, town municipality, or town panchayats, will be the president of the committee and women urban local body members as vice-president.
Two members of the urban local body, a Block Education Officers (BEO), a Taluk Health Officer (THO), a sub-inspector of that particular urban local body limits, two women members of an NGO, a male and a female high school student, a labour officer, a social welfare officer, an official each from the backward class welfare, minority departments, ward level officials will be the members of the committee.
Usman A, Deputy Director of the Women and Child Development Department, said that these Kavalu Samitis must hold a meeting every three months, and they are instructed to provide details of all the children at the urban local body level.
“These committees must ensure they organise awareness campaigns in coordination with the schools, police stations, anganwadis, women self-help groups and youth organisations.
The Kavalu Samiti’s role is to track cases of women and child trafficking and provide protection to the victims and extend financial, moral, social, medical and educational support to their kin.
These committees must ensure there is maximum participation of the civic society members,” he said. Reni Peter D’souza, CEO, PADI, said it has been a long-pending demand to have Kavalu Samitis in the urban areas where incidents of child and women rights violations are comparatively high.
“We do not have an effective system or a particular committee to tackle issues related to the violation of the rights of women and children at the urban local body level at present. Now, we can work in coordination with local bodies, NGOs and civic society members and also have a database of migrant women and children, missing women and children, children who have dropped out, etc.
We can also tackle child beggary through these committees at the urban level,” he said, adding that through PADI, they are meeting the officials of all the urban local bodies to form the committees at the earliest.