window._taboola = window._taboola || [];_taboola.push({mode: 'thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails', placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails', target_type: 'mix' });Latest News
For several months, 16-year old Remya (name changed) suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her step-father but dared not to open her mouth. It was the help desk in her school at Payyanur that gave her the courage to finally open up.
She confided in her teacher who alerted the Kerala Mahila Samakya Society (KMSS) members who spearhead the help desk system. They took her under their wings at Mahila Shikshan Kendra (MSK) in Thiruvananthapuram where Remya started all over again.
That was two years ago. She overcame the trauma to complete her plus-II in a school nearby. However Remya has lost her confidence and all the peace she earned, thanks to a directive by the Education Department which has asked girls above 18 years of age to pack their bags from MSK. Instead, they are to be housed at Mahila Mandiram with women from totally different circumstances, spoiling the chances of education for girls like her.
A set of new directives issued by the department last month threaten to clip the wings of the humane initiative which had seen girls opening up before teachers or resource persons in schools, something they even feared to do at homes.
The girls who are rescued from disadvantaged circumstances through help desk are brought to MSKs where they are made to come back to lives slowly and finally to education through art, theatre, lessons and love.
“Initially, we were told to sent the girls above 18 years back home. Some of them have come here when they were in Plus-II and been here for six months or so. It is not enough to rescue them from their battered selves or heal their inner wounds. You can’t set an age for recovery. It happens eventually through a long process when ultimately they are rehabilitated. Many girls are upset and fear they might be sent from the safe confines of MSK,” said a KMSS official.
This could topple the objectives of help desk, KMSS members fear. Girls and teachers call because they know help is nearby and that they are safe from the people who try to molest them. And there is scope for rehabilitation through education.
The post of KMSS State Project Director has been lying vacant for months after former Director Seema Bhaskar was forcefully asked to quit.
The Additional DPI V K Saralamma, who is now in charge, said that the girls would not be sent home but housed in Mahilamandiram.
“There are problems when younger girls and elder girls are sheltered together. The sad face of the big girls and their attitude could influence the younger ones, they need to be more cheerful,” she said.
Then why didn’t the department think of the short stay home run by the KMSS instead of Mahila Mandiram remains the question. The directive says that the KMSS activist of a district is not supposed to meddle with the affairs of another district.
The directives are such that the concept which largely works on the instincts and humanity of the social workers involved are mocked at.
The help desk is handled by the KMSS jointly with the SSA (in elementary schools) and with Souhrida clubs in higher secondary classes.
Comments
0 comment