Inclusive Education
Inclusive education is about every school going child, children going to a school to learn about the world that surrounds us, much that we are ignorant about and, to learn about children different from us. To understand and be sensitive to the issues and fact s relating to people who are different from us and giving expression to differing capabilities and creativity.
Inclusive education is about inclusion of all those children who have not been able to go to school mainly because of financial reasons, or other society related problems of being backward, of being stigmatised for any number of reasons or on account of a disability or being, differently abled.
ASJ has through the years expressed grave concern for those children we have left behind, barred from schools because of a disability problem or the inability to keep-up with other children of a common age-group.
The ‘Right’ to education is a ‘Fundamental Right’ accorded to every child. Children as human beings are born unique, each with her/his unique abilities and requirements. Inclusive Education must take into consideration the learning and physical abilities of children and ensure the educational curriculum more diverse, progressive and inclusive. How can any education thrive if it excludes more than 10% of its target population and, creative talent?
Definition Of Vulnerability
Vulnerability is the susceptibility to physical or emotional injury or attack. It also means to have one’s guard down, open to censure or criticism. Vulnerability refers to a person’s state of being liable to succumb to manipulation, persuasion or temptation. Vulnerability research covers development and poverty studies, public health, ecology and risk management.
A sub-category of vulnerability research is social vulnerability, where researchers are increasingly addressing some of the problems of complex human interactions, vulnerability of specific groups of people, natural disasters, climate change, and other disruptions.
Psychological Manipulation
Psychological manipulation indicates imposition of a social influence with the objective of changing the behaviour or perceptions through underhand, deceptive and abusive tactics for advancing the interests and intentions of the manipulator, in most cases detrimental to and at the cost of the exploited. Such coercive methods are termed and accepted to be exploitative, abusive, devious and deceptive.
Abuse
Abuse is defined as any activity, physical or verbal, that is harmful, injurious, or offensive. Abuse also includes excessive and wrongful misuse of any individual, person, place or thing. Abuse can be perpetrated through physical abuse, sexual abuse (whether child or adult), physical/financial/emotional abuse of the elderly substance abuse and other related offensive activity with the objective to cause harm or injury.
Physical abuse of a child is the infliction of injury by any other person. The injuries can include punching, kicking, biting, burning, beating, or pulling the victim’s hair. The physical abuse inflicted on a child can result in bruises, burns, poisoning, broken bones and internal haemorrhages. Physical assault against an adult primarily occurs with women, usually in the form of domestic violence. It is estimated that a majority of children have been witness to/exposed to domestic violence in one form or other in their childhood, adolescence and teens and some even after achieving adulthood.
Sexual abuse can also take the form of rape. The legal definition of rape includes only slight penile penetration in the victim’s outer vulva area. Complete erection and ejaculation are not necessary. Rape is the perpetration of an act of sexual intercourse whether
- The victim is overcome by force or fear (from threats or by use of drugs).
- Mental impairment renders the victim incapable of rational judgment.
- If the victim is below the legal age established for consent.
Comprehending “violence” against women with disabilities
Violence against disabled women is a silent act because in a majority of cases women fail to realise they are victims, or fail to communicate the act of violence. Even if it is communicated, seldom does it inspire belief. In most cases the perpetrators are not brought to book. There is also the fear that reporting the abuse could snap bonds with the caretakers.
Sensitizing Government and Media
This is a rather sensitive topic for all legislative, administrative and media barons. The fact remains that there are 38 million children with disability deprived of schooling or any educational or skill enabling facility in South Asia alone. According to UNICEF estimates, 70% of these children can attend regular schools provided the environment is made accessible to the challenged and schools sensitised to develop systems and environments to include them. The most vulnerable, deprived and most underserved segment in this 38 million are girls.
The need of the hour is for media, politicians, educationists and administrators and other stake holders to openly discuss this specifically underserved segment and give it the importance it commands.
- to extend full support to all ‘Mother & Child Care’ programmes and initiatives
- People in the rural belts and those at the grass root level would have an easy ‘Community Based’ access to health and medical professionals and facilities including captive community transportation facilities for emergencies.
- ‘ASJ Resource Centers’ would be manned by career professionals both men and women above the age of 60 from our ‘Information Bank of Senior Citizens’ to cover any deficiency in service/services and access to the alternate facility.
- These ‘ASJ Community Resource Centers’ would also function as ‘Information & Facilitation Centers’ for government subsidies and social welfare programmes. Full guidance and support would be readily available for the local communities to access these welfare programmes.
- The ‘Information Bank of Senior Citizens’, doctors, teachers, legal professionals, technocrats, social workers and community educators would evolve a pattern of life-centered, life-supporting services and work openings/options for every member of society.
- Advocacy and ‘Lobby’ to institute/establish legislation to protect the ‘Fundamental Rights’ of senior citizens and local and indigenous communities to health, shelter, education, employment and old-age care.
Access to housing, primary health-care centers, hospitals, schools
Empower Women & Children
Secure – Build Capacity – Empower
Justice: social, economic, academic & political;
Liberty: of thought, expression, belief, faith & worship;
Equality: of political representation, intellectual expression, employment opportunities, professional & social status
Women and children in the years ahead will continue to suffer because of
- livelihood issues;
- domestic duties, violence and brutalities;
- child bearing and rearing.
- the murderous assault, misery and burden of wars and terrorism up to 95%;
- caring for the maimed, those who did not return home and the other brutal aspects of war.
- destroyed homes and being rendered homeless
- mass migration besides,
- displacement due to development programmes at times of peace, entirely man created and,
- Violence and abuse at home and abroad – physical and psychological
With the destruction of homes, family unity and the social fabric,
- women and children bear the brunt of being homeless, and
- are not even listed as such for redressal or relief in government development programmes.
- The special needs of women are not a government priority
Empower Women NOW
EMPOWER
A social condition where men and women can take control of their lives, define their own priorities, gain skills, gain recognition for their expertise and skills, increased self-confidence, evolve solutions to challenges that confront them and, enjoy the freedom to experience and act according to their will.
Women represent 70% of the world’s poor – in India (South-east Asia), 70% of this population resides in India
- more than 1.2 billion still subsist on less than $1 per day – for India the figure is around 560 million. ASJ is dedicated to provide skill enhancement programmes of the future alongwith placement options to ensure positive and long-term mainstreaming.
- at least 6 out of 10 women are beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of their lifetime. For India the figures are at 100%; a country without any social security except for the most affluent how can any woman protest on issues of ill-treatment at home and the fear of being kicked, beaten, bruised and battered out of what she has been made to believe, is her home, only to become a victim of predaters on the streets and prostituted at every turn totally unprotected by the State. Counselling, support services and legal redress must be a continuous on-going activity.
- A married woman regrdless of her age can be turned out of her house in the middle of the night and her Rights/ Claims would take around a life-time to establish, if at all.
- It is estimated that, worldwide, 1 in 5 women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her life time – which is true for India
- Women experience sexual harassment throughout their lives.
- Homelessness is an experience causing loss of self-esteem, confidence and identity
- Homeless mothers raising their children on the streets who in turn, will be homeless and parent babies who will remain homeless.
- Employment helps homeless women trying to get back on their feet to at least HOPE, to aspire for something higher for herself and her children.
(Data is from UN Women 2016)
