West Bengal girl attends UN session as child rights activist

Seema Kaul

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 27

Twenty-year-old Anoyara Khatun from Sandeshkhali near the Sunderbans in West Bengal has just returned from a UN session in New York where she was on a panel discussion on adolescent health. A victim of trafficking herself, she got involved in child rights, gender and anti-trafficking issues after being rescued from Delhi in 2006. In an interview with The Tribune, she narrates her experiences and her journey post-rescue.

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What did you do at the UN this year? 

I attended the appointment ceremony of Nadia Murad as UN goodwill ambassador for the dignity of survivors of human trafficking. I was part of a panel on adolescent health with Vandana Gurnani, a joint secretary from the Health Ministry. I along with three other youth delegates did a live Facebook chat and answered questions from people across the world for half an hour. I also met Dr David Nabarro (UN special adviser on the 2030 agenda for sustainable development) at the ‘Global Citizens Festival’ and discussed gender rights with him. 

Your role at last year’s UN session? 

I shared space with Melinda and Bill Gates at a UN panel on maternal and child health. In 2015, NGO Save the Children supported 15 children from across the world to be nominated as champions to advocate child rights. The  UN invited the NGO to bring the child champions back this year for the UN session.

When did you begin schooling?

At the age of six, I started as a class I student at my village school in Chotoajgra. It was a primary school up to class IV.

Was there a break in your studies? 

I was in class VII in a high school in the neighbouring village when there was a break in my schooling. I had to go away from home to work in Delhi in 2006 to support my family. I returned to my village in 2007 after working for a few months in Delhi. I completed my schooling in 2012 from the same high school.

Your role in child rights issues?

I became a member of child protection groups in high school near my village and took on a leadership role. We would keep a watch and prevent child marriages and trafficking and exploitation of children. This involved counselling children and their families and keeping an eye on movement of outsiders in our village.