RIGHTS OF CHILDREN OF PROSTITUTE IN INDIA
Author: Ambareesh Pandey, II year of B.A.,LL.B. from United University, Prayagraj
Introduction
The work of prostitution or sex work depreciates the all basic human rights. From some recent year the matter of prostitution or sex trafficking has gained a lot of attentions of social workers and activists to aware the individuals of the state or society that they are also a part of our society but the efforts to combat the bad mindset for the prostitute remain woefully inadequate. India in 21st century as becoming or emerging as a economic power but it cannot ignore the importance of human rights, justice and to maintain peace among the individuals of the state in terms of gender, age, occupation, and status. The social stigma to ignore the gender equality under Article-14[i], we can say that the life of prostitute and their child we make derogatory standard of living. Society were not helping him to lead them to their essential basic rights i.e. right to education for their children, proper health care for them, shelter and also give them freedom from the psychological torture and physical and verbal abuse. Due to many reasons and helplessness, a women may started selling his body in the market for their livelihood, many times the women gets pregnant so the male who involve for the procreation of child is refuses to declare him as his son because of the fear of the society, that the society will not accept that male, but the child has no part in it. Children are the soul of the human existence on the earth. The society started depriving the child growth, development, peace and stability in the society. The government has to safeguard the right of children of prostitute for their health, education and to safe their childhoods owing to any reason ultimately dispossess the nation of its potential human resources which hinders the social and economic progress. The government in many countries have made laws for the protection and for the safeguard the right of prostitute. The children born to these sex workers have no future, they live in the worst condition in terms of nutrition, education, health. The peer pressure of society impact on their livelihood girl child converts him to prostitute and male child started involve in the criminal activities.
Challenges faced by the children of prostitute
Prostitution was such a profession in which person obtain his occupation generally they are not able to take care of their family. Children of sex worker which live in the red light areas are many times abused and mistreated the environment of red light area is definitely not suitable for the any children for his welfare and growth. Children do not get the proper shelter to live, they live in very poor condition and apart from the education they firstly require cloth, shelter and food. The very pathetic scenes we can see when the girl children of prostitute was verbally abused and molest by the clients of the sex worker which impacts badly on the mental health of that girl child. Many children get contacts with the transmitted disease and they can very hardly to access any medical facilities. Even if it is possible then the hospital authorities don’t allow them to access and not get full fledge treatment because they are involve in the profession of prostitution. According to many reports[ii] the children of prostitute were not able to get admission in the schools and if they get admission in the school then they are abused, bullied and discriminated because they belongs the place which this society thinks is mud. As because of this exploitation many of the children of prostitute started bad habits or started intoxication or drug abuse. Because of these if the child of prostitute was not getting such kind of respect they deserve so many women do abortion or marries their girl child at very early and immature age which give the growth of child marriages. The environmental distress, it is become natural for these children to take emotional stress which for long term affects the mental health and sometimes in physical health. The birth of children of prostitute is treated by society as a curse and if any child will suffer with any disabilities then his lifestyle was worse than life of any animal. The orthodoxy mindset claims 'Prostitution' to be a social evil while at the same time considers a sex worker to be of immoral character. The sole question lies in the existence of the child. The child is never a born sex worker nor wants to become one by choice if provided with life options. Then, why the society shun the child as illegitimate and continue to witness silently the child perish on its own.
Education of children of prostitute
A decent education is a still dream of many children of prostitutes. The majority of the children are not able to get the education specially the girl child of prostitute because they have always fear of the society, sometimes if some of them joined or take admission in the school, then they have to dropout from the school because the society always pinch or make harsh reality that you are not socially not acceptable. Mostly of the time the prostitute are not have enough money to pay the school fees, if they have not money they are getting told to pay in different way and the children were also afflicted by the same reason. To break this brutal situation and improve their position in the society, it will be a helpful step too gives them a free education and skill building exercise. We can say that the education is the key which can break the mindset of the society towards prostitutes and their children. And if the children of prostitutes get educated then they can help their family financially and they can easily get rid out from this defamatory occupation.
Constitution and The Social Reality
The Indian Constitution enumerates all the fundamental rights to be applied to all citizens without any kind of discrimination. Under Article 21[iii]clearly states that the right to live with dignity and personal liberty is a fundamental right of every human, there are certain article in the constitution which specially mentioned for the welfare of the child. The Government has the ability to provide specific arrangements for kids within Article 15(3)[iv]. And Article 23[v] aims to protect kids from human smuggling and abuse while Article 24[vi] prevents children from working in any dangerous business. Article 21 empowers to the access to education as a basic human right for all children, taking into account their growth. Under the Directive Principles of state policy (DPSP) in Part IV of the Indian Constitution, the State has obligation to provide opportunities and facilities for the development of children healthily as well as protect them against moral and material abandonment from anyone. The Indian Government passes or enforces various national policies and laws for the welfare of the children and also sets up commissions to supervise and look after the enforcement of these laws and it is important to note here that none of the policies or laws addressed the needs and rights of children born in the red light area. These children are mostly considered under the category of 'marginalized' or 'disadvantaged’ children. Under Article 15(3) the children born in the red right area are a falls in different category and need to be mainstreamed to protect their childhood, the State is empowered to do so none has been done so far. Orthodox thinking was perceives a 'prostitution' as a crime leading to the social boycott of the children born in the red light area (children of prostitute) which also challenges the fundamental right against untouchability which is guaranteed under Article 17[vii]. Untouchability strikes at the disgracing to human dignity and creating feelings of inferiority which is against the principles of natural justice. Denying and not giving the basic rights to the children of prostitutes and labelling them as illegitimate and unfit to stay in the society are also a form of untouchability.
Suggestion and Conclusion
The research paper focuses on the rights of the children of prostitute which are not given to him because they are not consider to the part of our Indian society because of their mothers profession. In the research paper the talks about that how our laws are become bias by not giving their fundamental rights, we have to give them all their rights they are also part of our Indian society we cannot refuse this fact. We all know very well about the fact that what were the environment of red light area and the children which are living their also sometime influenced by the bad surroundings.
There is some suggestion or precaution we have to take:
1. The Indian government should have to implement the some new laws and policies for the betterment of prostitutes and their children to uplift in the society.
2. And we can easily say that the Indian government should make some new schools and house for the children of prostitute and government should implement the new laws very strictly if anyone violates it will gets punished.
3. It is not only government or state will responsible for their backwardness but the people of the society were also responsible for the backwardness of children of prostitute, peoples has to change their mindset.
4. Government should give some reservation in the public offices and educational institutions so that they can take part in the society because in current scenario the children of prostitute are the backward class of the society, and we have to uplift that before their condition become more worse than today.
References
1. https://lawessential.com/miscellaneous/f/rights-of-sex-workers-in-india-a-legal-analysis
2. https://www.juscorpus.com/rights-of-sex-workers-in-india/#page
3. https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-44-a-legal-framework-about-child-prostitution.html
[i] Article 14 of The Constitution of India [ii] National Commission for protection of child right [iii] Article 21 of The Constitution of India [iv] Article 15(3) of The Constitution of India [v] Article 23 of The Constitution of India [vi] Article 24 of The Constitution Of India [vii] Article 17 of The Constitution Of India