The 17-year-old who is a child rights champion

The 17-year-old who is a child rights champion

Pune: A 17-year-old girl from Haryana walked onto the stage in a white shirt and green trousers, her voice bold and confident. She was the motivational speaker addressing 500 volunteers of Lifeschool - Inspiring Training at Balgandharva Rangmandir on Sunday.

Meet Anju Verma aka Anju Rani, who in the past six years, has saved around 690 children from child labour and enrolled them into schools in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan’s villages. 

Anju was only 11 years old when she saved 25 children from child labour and put 24 among them into school. Since then, there was no looking back for her. 

After the function, Anju shared her journey with Sakal Times, a journey that has recognised her as ‘Child Rights Champion’, words that also adorn her visiting card. 

Happy coincidence
“It was a matter of coincidence, that I landed in this social cause. I belong to a place where girls have been brought up in a conservative and restricted environment. In fact, my household was one of the very few houses, where girl’s education was given importance over housework. I was lucky,” said Anju. “But I had to follow other restrictions, like not loitering around or staying out of the house for long hours or in the evenings etc,” she said.

Beginning of a revolution
She was 11 when she first learned about child labour. “There were few girls in my class who would often get punished for incomplete homework. One day I asked them, why don’t they finish their homework or do they like being punished and kept outside the class the whole day?” Anju recounted. 

“An argument followed, the girls were quite offended by what I said and they said that I am very lucky to have parents who don’t force me to work at home. This fact bothered me the entire day. It intrigued me to talk to their parents,” added Anju.

Anju found out about child labour and its laws through her school teacher. 

She learnt that making children do extensive household chores, instead of giving them time to play and study, also qualifies as child labour. Anju convinced her village sarpanch (head) to counsel the parents of those girls.

“I explained to the parents how the child labour law can put them behind the bars or get a fine Rs 50,000. Fearing this, many parents allowed their children to go to school and gave them time at home to study,” said Anju who hails from Daulatpur in Haryana.

Extensive survey
After this incident, Anju undertook a survey in her village that has a population of 1,500 people. She found out 25 children were victims of child labour in different forms and brought them out of it. From here onwards, the revolutionary journey of this teenage girl began. 

“I also realised many parents would not attend parents and teachers meeting (PTM) in school. I began to revisit and counsel them again. When these parents were told that their children were poor in studies in spite of being brilliant students, it affected the parents,” said Anju adding that she probably has a god’s gift to convince people easily. 

She was threatened, insulted, shooed away, but nothing stopped her from bringing the change in her village. Anju wants to become a doctor.

Pride and honour
Anju’s father Rajendra, humbly acknowledged the pride his daughter’s work brings him. He not only accompanies her to different cities for motivational talks but he also gives her  Rs 10,000 out of his monthly income of Rs 20,000 to support her organisation. “I am not educated. I have been a truck driver all my life. Because of my work, I got a chance to travel to places. I realise one thing that if you pull your children behind, they can never progress in life,” he said. “I have no words to describe the pride I get when I see how much people respect her. Even I receive the respect and honour from people because of her,” said Rajendra.

A change maker

  • Anju is the founder of Buland Udaan, an organisation that fights child labour. 
  • She also creates awareness about gender equality and menstruation and myths attached to it, along with social activists who work in this field.
  • She is also tracing children who have dropped out, to get them back to school. 
  • With her friends, she runs a street school for migrating children in their village.
     

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