Children’s Day
By Dr Arvind Kumar
Ø One third of the world’s children living in poverty are in India;
Ø Every 6th girl-child’s death is due to gender discrimination, also known as female infanticide;
Ø Over 10 million children go to sleep on the pavement each night hungry and unprotected;
Ø Over 40% of children live in poverty and extreme hardship
Ø Nearly half of India’s children are deprived of their fundamental right to education each day;
Ø A startling two-thirds of girl-children cannot read or write;
Ø An estimated 111 million children struggling as child labourers – most often working in hazardous and degrading conditions;
Ø The third largest crime in India after drugs and gun smuggling is child trafficking – over 45,000 children go missing each year;
Ø Over 2 million children, mainly girls aged 5-15, are forced into prostitution and sexual slavery; and
Ø Each year 500,000+ children are forced into the sex trade with an annual increase of 10%.
So, on this occasion of Children’s Day, let’s think as to whether we are worth celebrating a Children’s Day with the viral existence of such evil practices or not.