Will Legal Literacy Become Universal In Punjab?

Sadly, most news out of Punjab, India relates to warlike activity and attitudes between India and Pakistan. However, I write to spread the word that Punjab is taking a step forward in the legal literacy and human rights fight by establishing student legal literacy clubs in all government and government-aided colleges.

These clubs will be oversought by the Punjab Legal Services Authority. They will engage in artistic activies, such as presenting posters, street plays, and presenting intellectual debates, all with the design to educate themselves and fellow residents about their rights.

The rights to be presented include: (1) the rights of women with regard to property; (2) rights of women against cruelty, abuse, and domestic violence; (3) consumer rights; (4) rights against forced labor; (5)rights of senior citizens; (5)rights of children to education; and (6)information about access to legal aid.

This list tells an important story about the values intended by the legal literacy clubs, namely to assure that the most vulnerable members of the members Punjab communities become aware of their rights and how to act on them.

The structure of these clubs also tells a story. The clubs are made of up small number of college students who meet regularly with members of the local legal community to learn about local laws designed to protect the most vulnerable individuals.

Students will also be encouraged to keep their eyes out for those in need of legal protection, and trained to inform those individuals about their rights to seek legal help.

To advance this, the Punjab Legal Services Authority is even giving cash awards to clubs based on their success in outreach, along with issuing various certificates recognizing certain successes.

In a number of blog posts, I have commented about these legal literacy clubs. I have also begun drafting posts that I chose not to publish due to the repetitive nature of them. However, this seems like a unique development. Additionally, this news seems particularly worthy of publication, given the extent to which news of terrorism and conflict seems to control the western news media's interest in the region.