Bhopal, Feb 5 : How do you explain rights and entitlements to someone who does not know what rights are?

This was the main question during a conference at the National Law Institute University (NLIU) here on Monday.

The conference was organised by the National Commission for Women (NCW) with the participation of an NGO on the occasion of the culmination of a legal awareness drive for the members of the Bedia Tribe in different districts of Madhya Pradesh.

The legal and health awareness drive was aimed at uplifting the community and combat caste-based commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking. During a span of two months, the drive was conducted in several districts such as Bhopal, Vidisha, Raisen and Guna in Madhya Pradesh.

The camps involved speed mentoring and one-to-one interaction with the people from the Bedia community, and educating them on rights and health.

At the camps, people from Bedia tribes were taught about their rights, entitlements, and the opportunities available to them pertaining to employment and scholarship, said a student of NLIU.

During the conference on Monday, it was also said that the members of the Bedia tribes have been traditionally involved in inter-generational prostitution, and were once considered one of the so-called 'criminal tribes'.

/IANS