Anjali Pawar, also known as Anjali Pawar-Kate, is the director of the child rights non-governmental organization Sakhee and a consultant at Against Child Trafficking in Pune, Maharashra, which works in the field of child protection issues.[1] During the course of her career, Pawar has advocated for child rights issues and worked to reunite adopted children with their biological families.
Anjali Pawar | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Other names | Anjali Pawar-Kate |
| Occupation(s) | Director of Sakhee, consultant for Against Child Trafficking |
Career
editIn 2010, Pawar helped Arun Dohle reunite with his biological mother.[2] Dohle was adopted as an infant by German parents, but returned to India as an adult and contested the adoption in court, including the allegation that he was adopted without his mother's consent.[2]
In 2012, Pawar advocated for a "detailed investigation into procurement of children through extortion, blackmail, threats and bribery of government officials," after Sakhee filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking a stay on all inter-country adoptions until legal protections were implemented and to investigate the conditions at orphanages.[3][4] Pawar stated that Maharashtra accounted for more than half of the inter-country adoptions in India and cited cases filed against adoption agencies alleging they demanded financial compensation for adoptions.[5]
In 2015, Pawar filed a petition with the Maharashtra Protection of Child Rights Commission (MPCRC) to reunite children with their parents after they were allegedly taken by a UK national.[6]
In 2016, as the director of Sakhee and a consultant for Against Child Trafficking, Pawar was quoted by The Times of India for her concerns related to the impact on children from inter-country adoptions, particularly for children with disabilities.[7] By 2016, Against Child Trafficking estimated their work had reunited about 40 adoptees with their biological family.[8]
In 2017, as a representative of Against Child Trafficking, Pawar helped Jessica (also known by her Indian name, Kamalini) Lindher with Mumbai police and local officials during Lindher's search for her biological parents.[9] Lindher had been abandoned as a young child and adopted by Swedish parents in 1982, and returned to India several times with the hope of finding her biological parents.[9]
In 2017, Pawar led a team from Sakhee to rescue a 12-year-old girl from suspected abuse and forced employment.[10][11]
In 2018, Pawar spoke out against a proposal to remove court oversight from the adoption of children.[12]
Pawar helped Jennifer Haynes, who was deported 2008 from the US to India, to find her parents[13][14][clarification needed]
References
edit- ^ "Sakhee (Working For Child Rights) -NGO". Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ a b Janwalkar, Mayura (18 November 2010). "37 years on, boy adopted by Germans meets mother". NDTV. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Time to suspend inter-country adoptions?". 16 May 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ "Baby business? NGOs ask SC to suspend inter-country adoptions". FirstPost. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ Deshmukh, Chaitraly (21 May 2012). "NGOs up in arms against inter-country adoptions". DNA. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ Pawar, Yogesh (29 April 2015). "dna impact: Kolhapur trafficking reaches state child rights panel". DNA. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "kids with special needs: Foreigners adopt older kids with disabilities too". The Times of India. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Meet the duo who have been fighting illegal adoption and child trafficking for years". The News Minute. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Maharahstra: Abandoned as baby, Swedish woman hunts for biological parents". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Minor girl rescued from her employer's clutches". The Times of India. TNN. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ More, Archana (7 November 2017). "Minor made to work as domestic help rescued from Nanded City". Pune Mirror. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ Seghal, Rashme (25 January 2018). "Why Does Maneka Gandhi Want to Shift Child Adoption From Courts To District Collectors?". The Wire. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Citizen of no land: The story of Kairi Shepherd". Firstpost. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ Ambika Pandit (7 November 2010). "Sans home and identity: A story from the US - Times of India". TNN. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
External links
edit- Against Child Trafficking (Official website)