Child Parliament

The Child Parliament (CP) is a platform for young people from 12 up to 18 years of age, and is meant to create leaders. Children from all strata of society are represented - from rural and urban areas, school going and non-school going children, physically impaired children, children living in the slums, working children from ethnic minority groups, and even children of sex workers. The CP provides a forum to formulate pro-child policies. Through this platform, they can identify, discuss, and raise their collective voice to influence the policymaking bodies of the Government, NGOs, donors, and civil society members. The CP functions under the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It consists of 128 members from all 64 districts of Bangladesh (one girl and one boy from each district). The Child Parliamentarians are elected by members of National Children's Task Force in each district. The CP comprises of one Speaker, two Deputy Speakers, and two Advisers. It also has a core committee of five members. All are elected by Child Parliamentarians themselves. The CP has already achieved success on issues related to banning corporal punishment, providing free textbooks up to class ten, abuse of children and keeping mobile phones switched off in class rooms. The CP works in 64 districts on the platform of NCTF. NCTF is the Child Rights Advocacy forum patronised by Save the Children Australia. Bangladesh Shishu Academy and a local NGO assists children to organize themselves and express the Child Rights Governance situation to local administrations. The 8th session of the CP was held on April 10. On the first day, the CP members followed up on previous sessions titled Education & Governance. Rahad Jannatul Islam Jagannath University E-mail: erahad@live.com