Salman Khan Forcing Dance Deewane Contest to Hug Jacqueline Fernandez Disregards the Boy’s Consent and Violates Child Labour Laws
Healthy Competition or Neo-Child Labour? Reality tv shows are exploiting child rights and forcing them act like adults, much before time.
Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez were recently on the sets of Dance Deewane, a reality show for kids, to promote their upcoming movie Race 3. During the show, the duo forcibly hugged a child participant despite his clear reluctance to do so. The child clearly mentioned that he didn't fancy hugging Jacqueline Fernandez because he wasn't in the mood. Salman Khan got up and walked up to the child and forced him into hugging the actress. The child was visibly uncomfortable. Later, Jacqueline
Clearly, the actress didn't realise how wrong it was, and she posted the video on Instagram, captioning it "Kids usually love me, this boy was an exception. At least I got my hug in the end." Her caption shows that she is unaware of the fact that what she did is morally wrong. Instagram users however, schooled her in comments.
Not too long ago, Bollywood singer Papon too was stuck in a similar situation. The larger question that arises is not about the ignorance of our celebrities but the presence of children on these shows. In the 90s and the early 2000s there were television reality shows based on children, like Boogie Woogie. But the concept of these shows has changed drastically over the years. Reality shows used to be about healthy competition between the children at one point. These days, many shows like Dance Deewane, Lil Champs and Super Dancer force children into behaving like adults for increased TRPs. They are made to live away from home, dress in a certain way, learn expressions and emotions beyond the natural process of "adulting" and perform according to strict schedules and rules of the shows.
India is a member of the International Labour Organization (ILO). According to ILO, 'child labour' is defined as 'work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.' 'It refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and/or interferes with a child’s ability to attend and participate in school fully by obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work. '
If you give a thought to the functioning of television reality shows, it violates more than one of the parameters of the ILO which defines child labour. While some may defend these shows by saying that children are willingly participating in these shows to showcase their talent, it is indeed true. But the treatment of the children in these shows isn't right. From narrating sob-stories to being dressed in a certain way, they are forced to act flirtatiously and behave in ways beyond their age and understanding.
On top of it, when famous celebrities like Salman Khan grace the show, they force the children into doing things in the guise of 'just having fun' and disregards their consent, normalising the exploitation these children are facing.
Behind the glamour of children getting a national platform for showcasing their talent, they get exploited in underlined ways. Their treatment is a violation of their legal rights. A couple of shows have come under scanner in the past, and an online petition was filed on Change.org. But nothing has changed significantly. These shows are only multiplying every year and gaining more popularity. With that knowledge, isn't it time we call for a ban on these shows?
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 30, 2018 03:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).