Is covering myself not my Right?
The ambiguity surrounding the Right to Clothing
The right to adequate clothing is a human right that includes the basic right to cover oneself. It is recognized as a human right in various human rights’ organizations, most importantly in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), as well as in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It’s incorporated in various scattered international covenants and enforced in different capacities; however not enforced as a fundamental right in the constitution of most countries.
In the twenty first century, the international humanitarian society fails to give the required importance to the right to clothing. There is a lack of discussion regarding this provision in the international forum. Although there are various general comments scattered across the UN Committee on Rights of Child as also Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, there are however no proper or specific guidelines or provisions laid down under the right to clothing in any of these organizations. Hence this becomes a problem.
Every country needs to have constitutional provisions safeguarding the right to clothing at least as a subsequent clause to a fundamental right, if not a fundamental right in its entirety. As of now, since no country specifically incorporates the right to clothing as a constitutional provision, it becomes even more important for these international humanitarian organizations to specifically lay down definite guidelines and provisions under the Right to clothing. Various constitutions indirectly mention this right or include it with other rights. Hence its essentiality as a separate provision is compromised in the present day world.
The problem that hence comes to the forefront is the fact that the right of adequate clothing, though enforced through international covenants, is not binding as a fundamental right in most countries. As far as India is concerned, the right to clothing does not have constitutional basis, that is, it is not a fundamental right in India. This becomes problematic when we consider developing countries such as India, as the ambiguity regarding this right creates wide gaps between the rich and the poor. In the present scenario of increasing gap between the rich and poor within developing nations such as India, it is essential to include the right to clothing as a basic human right available to citizens of the society, so as to prevent people from living under the poverty line (also henceforth reducing the rich-poor divide). What India needs in terms of an implementation measure is the right to clothing to be included as a constitutional provision. This would also mean improved public knowledge of the same, as also increased efforts towards ensuring the same, as well as working towards it in a concerted manner.’
Putting this in context, We Clothe Them makes a tiny effort towards the same. Here at WCT, we try to reach out to as many people as possible through various clothe collection drives, and redistribute it amongst the people who need it the most, the underprivileged section of society. The first step is hence to reach out to this section through various means- one of them being through orphanages and old age homes. Hence our NGO makes an effort to ensure the right to clothing amongst the less fortunate through donation of clothes, thus trying to do justice to one of the most essential yet neglected human right — the right to clothing.
