Beyond the tangible, towards the invisible : reflecting on the rights and realities of infants and toddlers living in an underprivileged context in Mumbai, India

Palkhiwala, Sanobia and Mevawalla, Zinnia; Press, Francis and Cheeseman, Sandra, eds. (2022) Beyond the tangible, towards the invisible : reflecting on the rights and realities of infants and toddlers living in an underprivileged context in Mumbai, India. In: (Re)conceptualising Children's Rights in Infant-toddler Early Childhood Care and Education. Policy and Pedagogy with Under-three Year Olds: Cross-disciplinary Insights and Innovations . Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 157-169. ISBN 9783031052187 (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05218-7_15)

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Abstract

International scholars suggest that rights-based frameworks such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN General Assembly 1989) can act as tools for shifting understandings about the role and status of children in society. From this standpoint, the consideration of the rights of infants and tod-dlers has continued to develop, with growing discussion of the differing nature of rights. However, in highlighting the limitations of rights theories, critics argue that rights-talk tends to overlook the complexity of economic, political, cultural and socio-historical factors that underpin the reality of children's access to, and experience of, their rights. Indeed, research from across the world continues to report on the violations and abuses experienced by groups of children, including infants and toddlers. In the Indian context, the multi-layered oppression faced by groups, such as children living in slum communities, has been well documented, but little research has focused specifically on the rights of infants and toddlers living in slum communities, beyond their right to life, survival and development. This gap in knowledge reveals the importance of questioning the tangible (e.g. access to water and sanitation) and invisible (e.g. hidden curriculum) factors in-fluencing the actualisation of children's rights in the Indian context. Drawing on insights from critical pedagogy, this chapter unpacks data from a research case study to story the experiences of teachers and toddlers in an early childhood pro-gram. In doing so, this chapter aims to reflect on the position and status of children's rights whilst questioning the international and universal gaze used to frame and analyse children’s rights in the Indian context. The chapter concludes by discussing possibilities for reconceptualising and actualising the rights of infants and toddlers living in slum communities, through a focus on education for critical consciousness in the early years.

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