Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day
10 December 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of one of the world's most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). So, I have a lot of questions for you all. Some of them are answered, while others are left unanswered by us, the society, the government, and also the law.
What was the mistake of those poor citizens of Northern Hamas who died in this heinous war?
Why were those 8 Indian ex-navy officers in Qatar sentenced to death in a country where death sentences were as rare as Halley’s Commet?
What was the mistake of those Meitei tribe citizens who gave their place to migrants and are now facing the consequences of abuse due to those migrants?
Are the Human Rights of these people protected?
The United Nations definition of human rights goes as : “Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights without discrimination.” We all know what an infinitesimal part of this is actually practiced. Today we are celebrating HRD's 75th anniversary, but how much are we contemplative about it, and how much do we strive to achieve the goal mentioned in its definition?
In the most developed country in this world, George Floyd was screaming, “I can’t breathe,” and crying out for his mother under the knee of a white police officer before going motionless in Minneapolis. Why do we need to tell the world that ‘Black Lives Matter’? Was there any day in the history of the USA or UK when someone had to speak out loud that ‘white lives matter’? Have you ever heard of any such thing? In this same nation, they can give women the right to make money but not the right to decide if they can keep or not keep a fetus inside their womb, which they don’t want. Which would be causing her problems in the future. Why don’t you give her the right to make her own decision? Why is the government deciding that?
We say India is a country known for diversity, but if you are not giving people the right to marry whom they want, just because of their gender how do you say that we encompass everyone? How do you say that we preserve diversity? It depends not always on what rights are given; it's also up to you how you use these rights.
The interpretations and misinterpretations of your human rights make a lot of difference. For someone, the right to freedom means to upload their picture on social media, while someone else uses the same to earn money through editing it. Spoiling someone’s personality, affecting someone deeply—this is the new tech of ‘Deepfakes’! Wasn’t it sufficient to misinterpret (dis)human rights to the extent of rapes, acid attacks, mental abuses, etc. that now it’s even going beyond? Deepfake would be the best example for showing the limits of excess rights and over-freedom.
But even a small hole is enough to bring a ray of light into the dark room.
The Nobel Prize Laureate, Mr. Kailash Satyarthi says in an interview, “If not now, then when? If not you, then who?” He has rescued more than 90,000 children from the scourge of bondage, trafficking, and exploitative labor over the last four decades in India under his Bachpan Bachao Aandolan. This Human Rights Day, we can take inspiration from him. It’s not always about saving or helping someone directly, just not bothering and not doing anything that would harm somebody else’s human rights will also work!
Bezwada Wilson has been a long-time activist who has campaigned against the degrading practice of manual scavenging. Wilson has rehabilitated 3 lakh people out of some 6 lakh who are still working as manual scavengers. His ‘Safai Karmchari Andolan’ led the Supreme Court to direct all States and Union Territories to award compensation to the families of manual scavengers who died working in the sewers. He was also awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for "asserting the inalienable right to a life of human dignity".
“It takes nerves of steel to continuously fight for a social cause in the face of adversity.”For Sunitha Krishnan, it is rescuing victims of sex trafficking and rehabilitating them into mainstream society. She is the co-founder of Prajwala, a Hyderabad-based NGO dedicated to rescuing women from the clutches of prostitution and preventing the second generation from falling into the same trap by providing education. A gang rape survivor, Sunitha, channelled her anger to put a smile on a little girl’s face. She has rescued more than 10,000 women and children and has sensitised many on how to reintegrate them into society. She has been attacked 17 times for the work she does, but that has not deterred her from providing a better life for these women and children. She is also a recipient of the 2018 Padma Shri Award.
If we start searching for it, there are many examples. Even the government supports such people. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) invites youngsters to its annual competition for short films on human rights, held on the occasion of Human Rights Day. They also provide a good amount of prize money to encourage more people to think about these issues and work for them.
Therefore, we should not just limit ourselves to reading about Human Rights Day but think of it as our responsibility towards society and participate in such NGOs and government programmes.
- Aditi Bhavsar.
