Is Goa a mother friendly state?

What mothers in Goa go through...?
This is article by Nachiketas's mother-Melinda, originally published in TOI, on the occasion of children s' day, Nov. 14, 2008
Is Goa a mother friendly state?
On the 14th of November the state of Goa will be celebrating Children’s day. Goa is long way off from becoming a real child friendly state. The Goa Children’s Act , 2003 was notified on July 14 th 2003 to protect , promote and preserve the best interests of children in Goa and to create a society that is proud to be child friendly. The healthy physical and mental development of the child starts right from the day of conception. During the first trimester of pregnancy due to increase in hormonal level there is feeling of nausea and giddiness . Women have to be provided with staggered working hours to start and finish work early or late during pregnancy. In the final trimester of pregnancy there is feeling of uncomfort , uneasiness, frequent urination and tiredness due to which pregnant women require plenty of rest . So it is essential on the part of the Government to provide rest rooms and refreshment rooms at every workplace both in private and public sector for pregnant women and lactating mothers. Having realized the neglect of breastfeeding working mothers the United Nations, the UNICEF , the ILO have directed the member states to respect the human rights of the working mothers and their breastfeeding children. All the institutions are bound to enforce the convention on the rights of the child adopted by UN general assembly on 20 th November 1989 and incorporated by Goa Children’s Act 2003- Rights of the child . Clause 1 of ILO convention 183 on Maternity protection 2000 states that – A woman shall be provided with the right to one or more daily breaks or a reduction of hours of work to breastfeed her child. Section 5 subsection 2 states of the above Act states that the State shall Endeavour to make possible Maternity leave of 6 months in all sectors of employment including for adoptive mothers and single parents. It is only the Government employees in the State who get the benefit of 6 months paid maternity leave whereas those in the private sector generally get 2 ½ -3 months . As per the medical opinion a mother has to exclusively breastfeed the baby for first 6 months and thereafter continue upto 2 years and beyond with other supplementary food. Infants who are breastfed receive protection against infection , illness , allergies and long term positive effects on their development, intelligence and health. The government of Goa in September 1994 as a part of their strategy under the State Programme of Action for the Child in Goa had taken a decision to include correct infant feeding practices , including exclusive breastfeeding for the first 4-6 months. The second decision taken under Early Childhood Development was universal access to daycare and two years of pre-primary education by year 2000. But this deadline has lapsed without action. Women in the private sector and those women working on contract basis should get the benefit of 6 months fully paid maternity leave . The Goa Government has not yet granted under the 6th pay Commission , 2 years of child care leave to women employees whose children are below 18 years of age. It is due to the break up of joint families and both the husband and wife working the problem of keeping the child arises. Section 5 , subsection 3 of the Goa Children’s Act 2003 originally stated that , crèches and daycare centres for infants and children of working mothers in all sectors of employment should be set up at the work site or close to the same , in cities and villages, to the maximum extent of available resources. But shockingly an amendment was hastened in 2005 and the word ‘should’ has been replaced by the words ‘may be’. This has boosted the unregulated private play school business. Besides working mothers , self employed women , household managers, agricultural workers are also in need of daycare centres. Since there are no daycare centres at the workplace women are forced to abruptly stop breastfeeding which is a traumatic experience for the child. After 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding children are very fussy about taking solid food and it is difficult to force feed them . All children are not weaned from breastfeeding at the same time. At times they are not weaned till the age of 1 ½ year . The Government of Goa should recognize in law that women and children have rights to enjoy good health. Daycare centres need to be made compulsory in public and private funded institutions, in every ward of the village or municipality and public places. Public transport should be made friendly for breastfeeding mothers in the state of Goa. Discrimination or illtreatment of breastfeeding mothers should be made a cognizable offence . Under Goan climatic conditions there is heavy rainfall , a workplace may be situated in a remote area where there is no scheduled bus stop and certain places where there is erratic transport it is difficult to move with the child. Flexibility in working hours for mothers till the child is 3 years of age should be given. If the Government is kind enough to adopt these suggestions, it may be a small step for Goa but a giant leap for welfare of mothers and children. The child needs to survive against all odds for which it needs practical, unprejudiced and unconditional help of the Government and compassionate support of the society at large. Only a mother friendly state can claim to be a child friendly state.