By Volunteer Lathika Jain, FHI Chennai
Social Evils: More dangerous than the Evil Eye
The social evils which exist in the society take root in the kids’ mind and heart, leading to the growth of the feeling of discrimination in them. When kids grow older with those differences and incidents, they feel that they are different from the rest, thus, bringing into play the game of superiority and inferiority. So, it’s very important to make sure that they learn, see and follow the right things instead of all other negative things. When they see the differences happening in caste, class, color and so on and so forth, because these things tend to grow more instead of getting curbed, they start believing in those ideas of societal norms. And if in case, they are the personal victims of the discrimination, then it gets even more difficult to remove those thoughts from their mind.
When kids don’t get admission into schools or other institutions due to their caste or class, they start believing that they don’t have the right to study like they want to and that education is made only for people with more money or belonging to a so-called superior caste. As a volunteer and a fellow human being belonging to the same society, we have to understand and make them understand that every kid is an human being and are the same as each other; their money or their class in the society doesn’t define them. They and their deeds and actions define them as a person. Each one of us deserve to get education and to propagate this idea, we should definitely join our hands and make it through.
We can get into small groups and enact dramas or create a meaningful theatre for kids so that they can understand the actual facts and believe that those bases of discrimination are wrong and evil.
Gender discrimination is something which is also growing in certain parts of the country but also getting curbed in certain areas. Even though most of the society says men and women are equal, some of them still discriminate on the basis of gender. At some point, men or boys get to hear that they are not supposed to cry or show their feelings or emotions, like girls or women. But who made this rule that boys are not suppose to show their emotions or cry? It is us, the society, who create such rules and form barriers amongst the genders. Apart from this, there are many other areas which are differentiated based on the gender. Let it be from studying to profession or passion, to hobbies or colors to designs, there should be nothing which is only meant for a particular gender; everything must be open to all. As volunteers, we should bring such issues to light by discussing and sharing it with the kids we come across. We should first know their point of view based on it and then explain to them that it is not as they believe. We can also put forward examples so as to prove our point better.
For example, if it is sports, it is not only meant for boys. So, we should show them that everyone can play if they choose to; it’s not about being a boy or a girl. We can arrange for an essay-writing competition and get their views. The difference in our skin color is also one of the issues. So, by creating a small incident for the kids, we should make them see that inner beauty is what matters the most and not the color. We can also make a set up to show them videos, movies or documentaries which depicts these incidents and has solution for the issues so it is simpler for the kids to understand. Nothing is ever easy or simple to do but once you decide on it, no barrier can stop you from overcoming it.
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