http://www.bbc.com/news/business-25947984
Child Labor: India's Hidden Shame
13 year-old Lakshmi was abducted in her village. Before she was rescued, she was working in people's homes in Delhi. She had to clean, cook, and take care of children. She was not able to sleep, and when she did something wrong, the family would hit her. They would not let her leave the house so she did not even realize that she was in Delhi. When she was too tired and wanted to sit down to take a break, they would scream at her and hit her. Lakshmi was also sexually abused by the man who kidnapped her. Four years later, her uncle finally found her. She states, ""What can we really do? We are poor people - I didn't have enough money to come to Delhi to look for my missing niece." Many kids go missing everyday in India and are sometimes forced into the sex trade or forced to work as "slaves" to the people who kidnap them. This is a real and serious issue that has been happening for many years in India and it needs to change.
Questions: How can families keep their children more safe and prevent them from getting kidnapped?
What can the police or other authorities do to rescue these children faster?
Monday, March 10, 2014
Blood Bricks
India's brick industry contributes approximately £3 billion (~$5 billion) to its economy. However, this booming industry is the product of modern slave labor. In Andhra Pradesh, one of India's over 150,000 brick production units is investigated. Terrible working conditions are present with barefoot workers and long hours. There are entire families working for up to 16 hours a day for extremely low wages. They are paid in advance and have to meet a quota of over 1,500 bricks each day. Workers are forced to stay for at least 6 months, so they must live with the conditions. A BBC report discovered very young children smashing coal for the kilns and found out about workers getting their hands cut off when they tried to escape the conditions. In 2011, the United Nations and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development created new guidelines for the companies with any association to these abuses. The new rules state that these companies have direct responsibility for human rights abuses anywhere in their production and supply lineage. Unfortunately, there is not much reinforcement.
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/jan/08/blood-bricks-india-urbanisation-human-rights-slave-labour
1. Should all companies in association have a direct tie to the abuses involved? What does it mean if it is their responsibility (in terms of action or not)?
2. Should these children even be allowed to work in the first place?
3. What is the issue with being paid in advance?
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/jan/08/blood-bricks-india-urbanisation-human-rights-slave-labour
1. Should all companies in association have a direct tie to the abuses involved? What does it mean if it is their responsibility (in terms of action or not)?
2. Should these children even be allowed to work in the first place?
3. What is the issue with being paid in advance?
Combating leprosy in India
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/t/story/stigma-hinders-efforts-combat-leprosy-india-22836869?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
India is a very rich and prosperous nation, but it still is not completely developed. Many people in India still suffer from leprosy, a disease that is no longer found in America. India has taken great lengths to prevent the fatality rate. People no longer die from leprosy in India, but it is a persisting problem. Cases of leprosy are rising in India and so is fear. People are afraid of catching leprosy even though Indian officials are saying that it isn't as contagious as people think. India is now stepping up its fight against leprosy by assigning more health officials to over 200 districts in India. This issue with this though is that people are too afraid to step up and say they have leprosy. They are afraid of being made fun of. This is going to be an issue that will take many years to fix in India, but they are going in the right direction.
1) If you knew that someone at Mitty had leprosy and didn't speak up about it, would you help them get treatment?
2) Do you think that India will ever be able to be on the same level as America on health standards?
India is a very rich and prosperous nation, but it still is not completely developed. Many people in India still suffer from leprosy, a disease that is no longer found in America. India has taken great lengths to prevent the fatality rate. People no longer die from leprosy in India, but it is a persisting problem. Cases of leprosy are rising in India and so is fear. People are afraid of catching leprosy even though Indian officials are saying that it isn't as contagious as people think. India is now stepping up its fight against leprosy by assigning more health officials to over 200 districts in India. This issue with this though is that people are too afraid to step up and say they have leprosy. They are afraid of being made fun of. This is going to be an issue that will take many years to fix in India, but they are going in the right direction.
1) If you knew that someone at Mitty had leprosy and didn't speak up about it, would you help them get treatment?
2) Do you think that India will ever be able to be on the same level as America on health standards?
In India, Poor Kids are Illiterate Despite 4 Years of Education: Unesco Report
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-India-poor-kids-are-illiterate-despite-4-years-of-education-Unesco-report/articleshow/29524124.cms
This article highlights upon the many issues that
India’s education system has. In India, education for the poor is inadequate
and largely unavailable. While India has made progress in enrolling more
children in school, there are still many children who do not have access to an
education. Furthermore, many children who do get an education are unable to do
basic math and do not know the basics in other subjects. The lack of education
and the bad quality of the education given to poor people in India can be
attributed to the fact that poorer states do not have as much money as richer
states to pay for good quality educations. The rich are able to pay for a
better education, while the poor are unable to and are not getting enough
funding to pay for good teaching. Another reason why the quality of education in
rural India is bad is due to the fact that
many teachers do not show up to their jobs consistently. Overall, the education
system needs to be changed so that children throughout India have access to an
education.
1. Who do you think is responsible for reforming the current education system in India?
2. How are the children who are unable to receive an education not being given the human rights they are entitled to? In other words, which human rights are being violated?
3. How does this article indicate the gap between the rich and the poor in India?
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Channasandra's women celebrate new-found power
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Channasandras-women-celebrate-new-found-power/articleshow/31629109.cms
In the outskirts of Bangalore, Channasandra's Milk cooperative society offers women a chance to earn their own income and therefore, empowerment. These mainly illiterate women run a cooperative society. The women have cows in their backyards which they graze and milk themselves. These women live typical Indian rural lives, but their cows have helped them gain independence and empowerment. The Channasandra Milk Cooperative Society is one among the 1,930 women's societies functioning in the state and it has helped foster this women empowerment. Before, the women had to rely on their husbands but now they have independence with the new self-earned incomes. The money made from the milk has helped improve village lifestyles and women can now afford to send their children private schools. This society has helped women feel empowered and unafraid to be active members of the villages.
1. Why is women empowerment such an important factor when trying to fix other issues such as poverty, education, etc.?
2. What are the benefits of women who are able to make their own income and not being reliant on their husbands especially in poverty stricken areas like India's villages?
Forced labor in India's carpet industry
Kara assembled a team of eight researchers who traveled to India to gather information about child labor/forced labor in the carpet-weaving industry. First they found that much of the facilities, after being put under scrutiny, had relocated from southeast Uttar Pradesh to a few hundred kilometers away around the area of Shahjahanpur, Badaun, and Hardoi, now dubbed the "carpet belt." They found overwhelming evidence of inhumane conditions, stating "an astonishing level of outright slavery and child labor for carpet weaving appears to be all but the norm in the region in and around this new carpet belt." For some numbers, they found that a minimum of 45% of all workers in India's carpet industry suffer from forced labor under Indian law, 28% are in bonded labor, and 20% are child laborers. India's carpet sector employs roughly two million people and Kara estimates that 900,000 are forced laborers and 400,000 are child workers, as young as five and six. One of the most interesting parts of Kara's report are companies' responses to these allegations. Companies like Ikea, Target, Macy's, and Crate and Barrel source their hand-made rugs from India. All of the companies expressed concern over the findings, but say that they a strong commitment to ethical conditions and have continuous auditing occurring in India that doesn't show evidence of the conditions Kara mentions.
Questions
1. Why do you think there is a discrepancy between the finding of these companies' audits and Kara's report? Considering the extensive production process of hand-made carpets, do you think it's possible to confirm that a certain carpet was made without forced/child labor?
2. What are some possible steps India can take to reduce child labor? What can we do as consumers?
Insurance for Women
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Women-make-up-less-than-a-third-of-insured-Indians/articleshow/31759775.cms)
As the title of this article suggests, women make up around thirty percent of all insured Indians. This number stems from perpetuated cultural values - that men should have all the financial decision-making power in Indian culture. As men tend to domineer over their wives and daughters, many of these women go without necessary insurance not necessarily because they cannot afford it, but because their husbands choose not to spend their money on their wives and daughters. However, women are experiencing a greater voice than ever before in these types of decisions. Working women in India, who are generally more autonomous over their money, have sharply increased the rates at which they are buying life insurance, a sign that is both encouraging to these companies as well as to the government. Women are not yet on equal footing with men, but this poverty and death can be alleviated through insurance purchases.
1. Is spending money on insurance a necessity for Indian citizens, and if so, what effect does this have on the economy and the uprising of the poor in India?
2. What are steps these companies can take to help foster a rise in the rates of women purchasing insurance for themselves?
3. What CST themes relate to this news and how can they be better upheld?
As the title of this article suggests, women make up around thirty percent of all insured Indians. This number stems from perpetuated cultural values - that men should have all the financial decision-making power in Indian culture. As men tend to domineer over their wives and daughters, many of these women go without necessary insurance not necessarily because they cannot afford it, but because their husbands choose not to spend their money on their wives and daughters. However, women are experiencing a greater voice than ever before in these types of decisions. Working women in India, who are generally more autonomous over their money, have sharply increased the rates at which they are buying life insurance, a sign that is both encouraging to these companies as well as to the government. Women are not yet on equal footing with men, but this poverty and death can be alleviated through insurance purchases.
1. Is spending money on insurance a necessity for Indian citizens, and if so, what effect does this have on the economy and the uprising of the poor in India?
2. What are steps these companies can take to help foster a rise in the rates of women purchasing insurance for themselves?
3. What CST themes relate to this news and how can they be better upheld?
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