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Summary Indian PM Manmohan Singhs wife says that children should not be employed as help.
Children should not be robbed of their childhood and families must make a conscious effort not to employ them as helps, the passionate appeal was made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs wife GursharanKaur today as she released a book on rescued child labourers. The book titled Breaking Free, is a collection of stories of children who were rescued.It is a matter of shame. Poverty is responsible for compelling these children to work. Our society is having people who are insensitive to the issue of child labour. Parents should understand that its their duty to give right direction to children, she said.Kaur said government and NGOs alone cannot make a difference without peoples active participation.A documentary film recounting stories of rescued children and the trauma they faced while working at a tender age was also screened at the function.Addressing the function, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Chairperson Shanta Sinha said middle-class families must realise that they are not doing a favour by employing children as domestic helps.Families or employers, who make children work as household helps, should be punished, she said.Film personality Farooque Sheikh said there are certain basic faultlines in our social structure which allows perpetuation of such practices.A memorandum demanding strengthening of the legal system to stop all forms of child labour, educating parents on the impact of sending their children to work, creating awareness among children about the impact of working at a young age, among other recommendations was submitted to NCPCR.
