What better way for the organization to celebrate International Girl Child Day than to have the the Girl Child Leaders meet the Press?
Divya Disha’s girl child leaders called for a Press Meet to share their ideas and opinions. 10 girl leaders representing the 300 odd Children’s Organisations from Hyderabad’s slums addressed the meeting.
Girl Child Leaders Meet The Press #InternationalGirlChildDay
Our Director, Mr Isidore Phillips, gave an introduction to Divya Disha’s work among children in the slums. As part of the Urban95 and Child-friendly Cities initiative, supported by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Divya Disha has formed 300 children organizations in Hyderabad. 4500 children actively participate in these organisations under the umbrella of the The Hyderabad Children’s’ Federation, representing the voice of children living in the city’s urban slums.
The girls then proceeded to share their opinions and ideas and a present a Charter of Demands. They explained that what they were sharing was based on the discussions in their organizations and they were representing the other other girl children at this Press Meet.
Some of the issues shares by the girls were:
- Crimes against children – Telangana State rates quite high for crimes committed against children. This makes children feel more vulnerable.
- Every second girl children in the age group of 12-18 is a victim of sexual abuse.
- Even girls in the age group of 7 – 10 face gender bias and teasing.
- Adolescent girls, though so vulnerable to sexual abuse, are very reluctant to report these crimes.
- Instances of online sexual abuse are on the rise.
- Most girls are victims of eve teasing on their way to school.
The girls then presented a Charter of Demands to the Government of Telangana.
Here are some of the demands they made:
- The Government should take measures to provide protection for girls
- Strengthening of the existing laws and implement them with full force.
- The Government and civil society should create a protective environment for children.
- The Government should set up a Special Body to stop violence abuse, negligence and exploitation against girl child.
- The government should immediately set up clean and accessible toilets for the girls in the schools and houses.
- Girls should be able to avail all the services related to education, medicine and government services without gender discrimination.
The Press Meet got coverage in the major Telugu newspapers in the city.
‘Divya Disha empowers students, by forming 500 Children Organizations to talk about their issues and design solutions.’ – Sakshi
‘Divya Disha’s girl children demanded that the Government should provide all the services they are eligible for.’ – Eenadu
‘Divya Disha’s girl child leaders opined that the Government should strengthen and implement the laws related to the protection of girls.’ – Vaartha
