Blog Action Day: Human Rights and Freedom

Today is Blog Action Day where bloggers and writers across the world come together on a common platform to share their thoughts on one universal theme, ‘Human Rights’. Blog Action Day was founded in 2007 where bloggers discussed various themes such as climate, change, poverty, food and power of we. I have decided to take part in Blog Action Day this year since it deals with a noble cause, Human Rights.

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Human Rights is a theme which is very close to my heart and for me, it equals to human freedom, the freedom to live life on my own terms, the freedom to think and act in an objective manner as well as the freedom to have access to education and basic human resources. However, Human Rights and human freedom also encompass the right to information, freedom of information and justice and fairness to all, devoid of caste or sex discrimination.

Having worked as a journalist, Freedom of and Right To Information is something which is very close to my heart and it is shame that there are so many countries in the world who lack the legal provision to protect journalists. Governments across the world resorted to legal provisions designed to withhold information so that they may indulge in corrupt practices and deny the poor basic human rights. For example, a poor person has the legitimate right to ask for information from the hospitals on its health and the latter should be able to provide the information. I feel that, as citizens, we have the right to know what our governments are doing with our money, whether they are funding wars or involving in cut-backs. The governments may speak about secrets of the state but I feel that it is a lame excuse used to prosecute people who sacrificed their lives for freedom.

There are so many countries in the world where discrimination is rampant against women and where they are subjected to rape on daily basis. We know of cases where women are raped in rural areas and which hardly reaches out to the police station or the media. Such women are victims of poverty in society and are humiliated on account of their caste, social class and sex, among others. There cannot be any bigger violation of human rights. The same holds true for homosexuals and lesbians who are persecuted in society by conservatives where they are not only scorned upon but subjected to humiliation and increasingly discriminated against. We can only speak of universal rights where laws will pave the way to protect the rights of each and every citizen and where everyone will be treated equally. women and gays. This is my definition of true freedom and human rights.

Today, the fight for universal human rights is a real challenge since there are so many people who are deprived of proper meal, exploited by the middlemen, don’t have access to good education, proper sanitation and healthy living. They are also deprived of justice and fairness in society because of their social, caste or sex status. It’s a tragedy since lack of political willingness and mindset in the system permeates discrimination in society. Can we call ourselves Free? I’m sorry to say no and universal human rights seems to be a distant dream.