Canada launches child sex abuse project in Gujarat, says it will not tolerate shrinking space for civil society

Deepak Obhrai with Utthan's Nafisa Barot

A top Canadian representative, in Gujarat to attend the high-profile Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas and the Vibrant Gujarat business summit (January 7-12), has said that the Canadian government will not sit quiet if the space for civil society in India shrinks. “In case this happens, we will not hesitate to tell about this to the government”, said Canadian MP Deepak Obhrai, a Government of India invitee for the two top events. Also Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights, Canada, Obhrai added, “Human rights is a Canadian priority. We have pointed towards weak areas in India the spots at the UN Commission Human Rights.”
Awarded in 2009 the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, highest honour to an overseas Indian, Obhrai was answering questions from mediapersons on Canadian view of shrinking space of civil society in India under the Modi government, and what is Canada, a Commonwealth country like India, doing about it. He was in Ahmedabad to declare the release of a $23,000 Canada government-funded projecte on sexual exploitation of children, launched in Gujarat last month by state-based NGO Utthan. The project began close on the heels of a Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) report saying that 63 per cent of Gujarat girls have reported sexual abuse, highest in the country.
Talking with newspersons about the project, an Utthan spokesperson said, the NGO has begun the project in the second half of last month in 100 villages of six districts in Gujarat -- Bhavnagar, Amreli, Dahod, Mahisagar, and Panchmahals. “An awareness campaign is on to tell communities about the need to understand sexual exploitation of children, both boys and girls, what it means to society, and how to fight against it”, the spokesperson said, adding, “We have found good response all over, with several schools, including private and government, wanting training programmes to be carried out about basic sex education with high school-going children.”

Utthan campaign in Vevera village, Amreli district

Utthan director Nafisa Barot said, during the campaign, the NGO found that, shockingly, the police or even the Justice Committees, operating under the auspices of community-based organizations, have not received any complaints about sexual abuse. “Child abuse is shrouded in secrecy. There is a conspiracy of silence around the entire subject. However, in personal talks, we found questions being raised about it. We hope people will slowly come out and speak following the campaign launched by us. We are compiling facts on sexual exploitation of children. So far, however, nobody is wanting to speak out openly against it”, Barot said.
Apart from communities, the programme involved providing training to teachers about sexual abuse of children. “In all, 90 teachers have taken part in special workshops we organized for them. During our campaigns, there were also voices about teachers being culprit in sexual abuse”, the Utthan spokesperson said. Asked why was Canada interested in funding the project in India, Obhrai explained, “We are supporting the fight against early marriage, abortion without consent, child sex exploitation, sexual violence and such other issues around the world. The problems are universal, and we believe in working with government and NGOs on these.”
An official release on the Canada-supported project said, “Utthan’s project aims to raise awareness and sensitivity about child sexual violence and exploitation, including breaking the stigma about rape and abuse of victims across 100 villages in coastal and tribal districts of Gujarat. This will be supported and sustained through the mobilization of a cadre of local leaders including doctors, teachers, police, panchayats and parents.”

It added, “Through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), Canada provides small amounts of funding to local non-governmental organizations and community groups worldwide. In India, Canada is working with local communities and governments to address sexual violence, women and girl’s empowerment and other grassroots needs.”

Comments

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.

Powering pollution, heating homes: Why are Delhi residents opposing incineration-based waste management

While going through the 50-odd-page report Burning Waste, Warming Cities? Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Incineration and Urban Heat in Delhi , authored by Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran of the well-known advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability, I came across a reference to Sukhdev Vihar — a place where I lived for almost a decade before moving to Moscow in 1986 as the foreign correspondent of the daily Patriot and weekly Link .

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.

Search This Blog