Ensure infant- friendly facilities at public service centres: Human rights panel

The direction comes after a Hisar based man complained of lack of separate counter for women and child at Hisar post-office, where women also faced difficulties in breastfeeding in public due to lack of designated space.

Haryana Human rights commission (HHRC) has directed citizen resources information department (CRID) to ensure infant-friendly facilities at post-offices and other public service centres.

In the complaint, Ashish Jain, a Hisar based resident said that he had visited the main post-office in Hisar on July 6, last year to update the aadhar card of his son and he observed that several women were waiting along with their newborn babies in extreme head to update the aadhar card. (HT File)

The direction comes after a Hisar based man complained of lack of separate counter for women and child at Hisar post-office, where women also faced difficulties in breastfeeding in public due to lack of designated space. Justice Lalit Batra, chairperson of the Haryana Human rights commission (HHRC) has sought a report from the commissioner and secretary to Haryana government, citizen resources information department (CRID) before the next date of hearing i.e March 27.

In the complaint, Ashish Jain, a Hisar based resident said that he had visited the main post-office in Hisar on July 6, last year to update the aadhar card of his son and he observed that several women were waiting along with their newborn babies in extreme head to update the aadhar card.

“The mothers faced difficulties in breastfeeding in public due to the lack of a designated space, and some struggled with the hygiene of their babies. Upon the office opening, only one counter was available for aadhaar registration/update, leading to overcrowding. When I inquired about a separate counter for women and children, the staff cited a lack of resources. Despite submitting a complaint, no immediate action was taken,” the complainant added.

The complainant highlighted significant human rights violations concerning women’s dignity, child welfare and equal access to essential services.

The commission found that absence of the designated feeding space, forced mothers to breastfeed in public, violating their right to privacy and dignity under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Furthermore, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), ratified by India.

The commission recommended that Post Offices and other public service centres introduce infant-friendly facilities, such as feeding-rooms, baby care areas and separate counters for women with infants. Additionally, the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, which mandates breastfeeding-friendly workplaces, should be extended to the Government offices handling essential services like Aadhaar registration/update.

“If infrastructure improvements are not feasible, home-based Aadhaar registration/update for infants should be introduced to ensure parents are not forced to subject newborns to overcrowded and unsanitary conditions,” the letter reads.