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India has come a long way to achieve a good literacy rate with the male literacy rate standing at about 82% and the female literacy rate at about 65%. Several steps were taken and are being taken to see the above figures. But when we see people getting exploited, the first question that hits our minds is why would they land themselves in such a situation. Sometimes even the well-educated ones are trapped and they too end up getting exploited. So what is it that is not guaranteed even with a good education? It's legal literacy. 

Now, if a person is educated at a well-known institute, works at a well-known organization, and holds a prestigious position but is victim to some kind of exploitation that person will be called "legally illiterate". People often confuse legal Literacy with the knowledge of sections of CrPC, IPC, etc, or with a person who is practicing in a court of law. On the contrary, legal literacy has nothing to do with the practice of law it is being aware of one's rights and duties, and this awareness is not confined only to the knowledge of it, it also encapsulates doing the rightful and lawful in the event of exploitation. 

Why has this topic come up now? This is not a new phenomenon, it has been talked about behind the doors but not only openly even though it's not a taboo or something one should be feeling ashamed of. Why is it that now and then we hear news of how overburdening at the workplace proved fatal for some employees, or why a person who is well educated, and is earning a handsome income faces hitting, and bullying so much so that they either finish their lives themselves or are killed by their exploiters? Why was their professional course knowledge not enough to give them the courage to rise against the wrong? All these are compelling yet unanswered questions.

I am in no position to judge a person who is facing exploitation, but at the same time I am compelled to think that when a person says that he/she was in an abusive relationship for a considerable period, my sane mind wants to ask them, that if you knew about your abusive relationship why didn't you do anything to get out of it? What is more painful is that most of them end in death, so what is the point of being educated if you cannot pull yourself out of such a situation? Especially in today's hi-tech world where every piece of information is just a click away, how difficult is it to reach one person who can help you out?

Is Anything being done to spread Legal Awareness? 

As a matter of fact, the government has come up with a national level plan formulated by NALSA ( National Legal Services Authority) that aims at educating the masses about law through informal channels. It aims to educate people about their rights, constitutional obligations and remedies and also tell them about free legal aid so that justice becomes easily accessible. 

Why is Legal Awareness needed?

India is the largest democracy and law is one driving force that assures that it should be used for safeguarding oneself against any kind of exploitation. We are also a country that has a difficult constitution and no wonder it is called ‘advocates paradise’. It's practically impossible for everyone to understand its language and its objectives. This situation creates a scope for creating loopholes wherein the person in an advantageous position may interpret it to his benefit while the other person has little choice but to believe what is being told. It is here that legal literacy comes into the picture. Because when the person has even a basic idea about his rights and obligations or he has a general understanding as to what could be the probable solution, he will not be a victim of misinterpretation. 

Objectives of Legal Literacy

  • To identify the victim: When we say victim, it means any person who is facing exploitation whether it's a woman or a man transgender, a child or an old age person, for that matter even animals. 
  • Acknowledging State Obligations: Most of the time the victims feel helpless when they are being exploited because they don't know that our Constitution has put the responsibility on the state for providing free legal aid to anyone in need. The problem here is two-faced, one, that people don't know about this protection from the state, and second that the state also shows little to no interest in lending help Or if by any chance they lend help, it's mostly insignificant. This problem can be solved by setting accountability and keeping the whole process transparent.
  • Accessible Justice: Another important objective of legal literacy is to make justice accessible because many times exploitation is also disguised as a complex process in the way of seeking justice. People who are not sufficiently educated do fall victim to this complexity but even educated ones are not spared. The reason is that they are not in the state of mind to understand the process, hence, the whole thing just adds to their woes. To this issue, a ‘one-stop solution’ can do wonders. Whether it's the victim or his family neither has to wander from place to place to seek justice. 
  • Volunteer Engagement: System and administration have their limitations due to which they cannot reach a wide population. This is where the NGOs and Volunteers come in force because they can teach people at every level, not only this they can also convince people and enlighten them about their rights and the ways to seek justice. A lot of volunteers and NGOs are already engaged in spreading legal awareness and hence, they are helping several needy people.

It would not be wrong to say that legal awareness is equally or probably more important than being formally educated. Just having the knowledge of fundamental rights is not enough, how to use them, to what extent they should be used and where to use these is also necessary. Moreover, understanding exploitation is not anyone's ultimate fate and it should be fought against is pivotal. 

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