Namrata knows that she is unwell. But she also knows her parents will not take her to the doctor because she is a girl. Because the money that they spend on the doctor and tests would be a ‘waste’ if she was ill and a ‘waste’ if she wasn’t. But because she wants to get better, she plucks up the courage to ask her parents to take her to the doctor anyways.
Namrata fights for her right to have good health. She fights because she can.
Yusuf is always called Younis at school. When his teachers look at him, all they can think of is his older, smarter, more articulate brother. Yusuf wishes they would just call him by his own name, just treat him like the individual he chooses to be- so he politely reminds everyone that he is Yusuf and very different from Younis.
Yusuf fights for his right to have his own name and identity. He fights because he can.
Rajesh works from 6 am to 10 pm- serving adults. He has to repay his family’s debts, so his whole childhood has been about that, not him. He longs to be free like others he sees- free to learn a new language, to play cricket, to meet his friends. So he asks his employer for the smallest freedom- to let him study at night. And when refused, he finds a job that will allow him to make ends meet for today and build a future for tomorrow.
Rajesh fights for his right to protection from exploitation. He fights because he can.
Tania puts on smile every morning as leaves her house. A strong, determined smile to cover up the pain of endless physical and emotional abuse from her ‘real’ mother No one at school or her extended family knows her pain. She can’t tell anyone because they won’t believe her and even if they tried to help, it would only get worse. After all, she is her mother. So Tania tries to lie low at home and lives life to the fullest at school, waiting for the day she turns 18, to walk away.
Tania fights for her right to protection from abuse. She fights because she can.
Rashmi stands outside the public children’s park, peering past the fencing, watching the children run around and play. Rashmi knows she won’t be let in because she looks dirty and lives in a shanty near by. So she grabs her chance when she sees a bunch of photographers enter. No one will throw her out in front of them, for sure! She runs around and flies her kite, posing for snaps and tries to get her sister to slip in too.
Rashmi fights for her right to recreation. She fights because she can.
Roshan’s parents moved him out of one ‘good’ school because they gave way too much homework for any of them to handle. Now he’s in a school that they paid a lot of money for and yet he can’t understand what the teachers teach. He gets so confused between the school teacher and the tuition teacher and if he asks any questions, both shout at him and blame it on the other teacher! Roshan asks his mother to stop the tuitions and talk to the school teacher at the parent teacher meetings. On children’s day, he writes a poem about this that goes up on the school bulletin board.
Roshan fights for his right to quality education. He fights because he can.
Karishma was chosen by her SUPW teacher to speak on radio about children’s rights. She was nervous about it but was very eager to represent what her classmates knew and did about child rights. However her parents were not so keen- they felt Karishma might say something improper on radio and embarrass herself, her family and school. But Karishma explained to them that their school club worked hard to spread awareness about child rights and this was one opportunity they just could not miss. She convinced them that she cared enough about her own and other children’s rights to think carefully before speaking and yet communicate what adults needed to know.
Karishma fights for her right to be a member of a children’s club and express her opinions, to make a difference. She fights because she can.
Everyday, children fight for what they know is right for them. They fight with all their heart, all their mind and all their strength. They fight with all their resources and all their skills. They fight because they can.
P.S: Except for Roshan, every child described above is/was a real child I know and their names have been changed to protect their right to privacy.
