Bengaluru : Ashwini’s experience in applying for jobs has been harrowing. A devadasi’s daughter, she could not complete a job application online as it had mandated the father’s name. she put her brother’s name in the mandatory field While filling another form. But she is now worried that this will fail at the verification level.
The consultation was jointly organised by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and Children of India Foundation on Oct 6 and 7.
Even while multiple court orders have stated father’s name is not mandatory in official documents, it still does not feature on the ground, said experts at a policy consultation on the issue. Children rescued after being abandoned as newborns, children of sex workers, children born out of relationships outside marriage, who come under govt care and protection systems, children whose father’s details are unknown or unavailable and other children for whom the mother is the sole caregiver also face similar documentation-related difficulties at various stages.
“Karnataka reported 740 teenage pregnancies from April till Sept this year. 117 of them are unmarried.
But that structure should not become a barrier to our everyday rights,” said Dr Indumati Kamshetty, deputy director, department of health and family welfare. These are newer challenges of our society as time changes. I agree that the society needs a structure. Issue circulars for implementation to school heads, block education officers, and deputy directors of public instruction.