Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, SEPTEMBER 25
MINISTER for Social Welfare, Women & Child Development, Kiyaneilie Peseyie has appealed all the concerned NGOs, agencies and individuals to come together and strive tirelessly to make Nagaland a safer place for children and women to live in. Peseyie made the appeal in the face of the State, particularly Dimapur, experiencing increasing social evil practices hindering safety and security of the people.
He was speaking at the first State Level Consultative Meet on Children’s & Women’s Rights at Hotel Saramati, Dimapur, on Wednesday.
“The most challenging and frightful concern is rampant crimes against children and women in the form of physical and sexual abuse, rape and murder of young innocent girls,” Peseyie said.
To check these crimes, the Minister informed that the State Cabinet has approved the proposal to constitute Child Rights Commission in the State.
“The expansion of Social Welfare department entails bigger responsibility to the Child Rights Commissioner and its members for rendering better and meaningful services to the children and women in the State,” he added.
Expressing happiness that Nagaland has become the first State in North East region to sign an MoU with the government of India for Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), Peseyie informed that the State government has planned many programmes under ICPS for the welfare of children in conflict with law and those in need of care and protection.
The ICPS will bring in schemes and programmes (both Central and State) of different ministries for children and women so that they can take optimum advantage of the new initiative” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Razia of India Alliance for Childs Right (IACR) New Delhi said if a child does not feel secured at the moment of birth, then the child is not secure and the society itself has failed to make childhood safe.
Lamenting that the Central budget for children’s welfare is not enough where out of Rs 100 only Rs 5 goes for their welfare, she said children are not a topic of welfare but of justice.
However, she hoped that with Nagaland becoming the first alliance of IACR since its formation in the year 2001 and holding of the first state level meet on children and women rights will be helpful in safeguarding the rights of the vulnerable.
In her keynote address, Deputy Commissioner Dimapur Hushili Sema said educated as well as uneducated parents are lured to the education of their children, unaware of the real motives behind, which in turn leads to child abuse and trafficking, etc.
In order to avoid this, she urged upon every individual to create awareness and make ‘awareness’ their main objective in reaching out to the people.
Noting that church plays a vital role in building the society, the DC called upon the churches to create awareness on this issue without hesitation so that children and women can live with dignity.
She further urged the parents to give privilege to the girl child and ensure that the children are brought up in a safe environment. .
The one-day meet was organized by Nagaland Alliance for Child Rights (NACR) under the theme “Towards a stronger Nagaland Alliance for Children’s & Women’s Rights.”
The NACR with its motto “Safer Nagaland for Children and Women” has the vision to make Nagaland a model state where every child/woman is valued and cherished as a supreme asset and where both State and society ensure that all children and women enjoy their rights and are taken best of care and respected.
