"It is ironic that though working children are the ones experiencing the problem, they are the ones who are the least involved in designing and developing the solutions. This right of children to participate has challenged our paternalistic paradigm and confronted us with many of the mistakes we have made."
– CWC co-founder Nandana Reddy
Reddy cites one example of this paternalistic outlook – young girls and women, in a small village named Uppunda on the west coast of India, are responsible for collecting fuel wood from the forest while the men and boys of the village are involved in fishing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
On a typical day, women and girls depart around 4 a.m. and walk two to three hours to reach the national forest. After chopping deep into the forest for three hours, they carry bundles of wood back to their village in the peak heat of the day. Because the activity is officially illegal, they are often abused by forest officials who impose fines and confiscate their equipment. One might quickly consider this activity to be extreme child labor or gender exploitation. However, one 14-year-old girl named Prema (above, left and below) explains that the job has some advantages.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The journey to the forest gives females some freedom in a restricted society, and means for socializing outside of the home and avoiding stereotyped gender roles. The small amount of money they make selling the wood gives them negotiating power in their homes and villages. This is not to say the work is not overwhelmingly gruelling. Many of the girls suffer neck and back problems. Were it not for an extension school in the village (which they designed with support from CWC), they would not be able to attend school at all.
|
|
Peers elected Prema (above) to be the president of their government, or Makkala Panchayat. This action gave her even more power in her immediate family and in her village.
Last November, Prema participated in a working children conference in Japan. One year earlier, she represented working children at a conference in Nepal.
|
|
|
Rural Child Laborer: Prema
