Making the cities child-friendly

The election to three city corporations-Dhaka North, Dhaka South and Chittagong-were held on April 28 last. The mayoral candidates in their election manifestos committed to address many issues, but there was no clear commitment about how to address child rights, their other issues and development.
Some major issues can be considered by the elected representatives of the city corporations:  
The National Child Policy 2011 stipulates: 'Measures shall be taken to ensure quality recreational, sport and cultural activity for the children. Each educational institution shall have playground, sports equipment. There shall be children parks and sports centres area-wise. The town planning shall include compulsory playground for the children'. On the contrary, the number of parks and playground is decreasing with land grabbers usurping those. Apart from grabbers, local people sometimes degrade a park by using it as a dumping yard, political parties establish their local offices and transport companies park their vehicles there.  The newly-elected bodies should take measures to increase the number of playgrounds and set up entertainment venues for the children accessible to all.  
Women and children are often victims of eve teasing and other forms of violence in the city. Many sources reveal almost 90 per cent of girls aged between 10-18 years fall victim to eve teasing. They are harassed either physically or mentally. The city corporation can have a special unit to hear those problems and resolve them.
Birth registration provides the first legal recognition of a child. Without a birth registration, children may lack access to services like healthcare and education. About 63 per cent of the slum children in Dhaka have no birth registration, although the birth and death registration act 2004 made birth registration compulsory. Among the parents or caregivers of the children, who did not obtain registration, 41 per cent did not understand why it was important to have birth registration for their children. Besides, 32 per cent did not know where to register with for birth and 27 per cent of people did not receive it due to the costs involved (The Financial Express, 2014). City corporations may have significant efforts to include all the children under this coverage free of cost.
Dhaka had 69 public toilets constructed but two were demolished on the pretext that they block footpaths. Out of the remaining 67 toilets, only five are fully operational. Shockingly, many toilets are being used by the local operators to wash cars, sell water, sleep or run small shops. Only 43 per cent of these toilets have regular water supply and just 20 per cent of toilets have functional lighting facilities (Water Aid, 2013). There should be separate chambers in public toilets for men, women and children with all necessary facilities including hygienic environment, lights and 24-hour water supply available.
In Dhaka waste is everywhere where children are the pickers in most of cases. Numbers of existing dustbins are not adequate. Most of the dustbins are broken, where open dumping is practised. There is the lack of a provision for collecting waste from the slum areas. So, the children are mostly affected. As the city corporation is solely responsible for managing waste, they should have comprehensive plans for the whole city partnering with non-government organisations.
Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. One-third of Bangladeshi women now aged between 20 and 24 were married off by the age of 15. In slum areas 80 per cent girls aged between 12 and 18 got married. The city corporation should give special attention to address this issue.  
 Over 30 per cent schools have no safe drinking water and sanitary toilet facilities at the primary level. City corporations should have a special plan for addressing the needs of slum dwellers, specially ensuring their access to basic amenities.
According to an UNESCO report (Global Education Monitoring Report, 2010), education figures for slums in Dhaka are among the worst in the county. Childhood immunisation in Dhaka slum households have been reported at 51-76 per cent. Government primary schools should be established adjacent to the slum areas.
Children's engagement in hazardous jobs is another alarming issue. Although dependable, comprehensive and up-to-date information on child labour in Bangladesh is not available, Bangladesh is among the 74 countries where child labour and forced labour are still found. The children of Bangladesh in the urban areas do 300 different types of work. Out of these, 47 types of work are categorised as more harmful for the children. In these jobs often the children become exposed to excessive heat, toxic chemical reagents and many more hazardous consequences. Working children suffer from different sorts of health problems such as fever, stomach problem, dengue, measles etc. The city corporations can pay special attention to reducing child labour in urban areas.
The elected city corporations should address all these issues in order to make the city resilient to hazards and friendly to the children. It is said that if a city becomes friendly to the children, then it becomes a city for all.
The writers are working for Urban Development at the World Vision Bangladesh.
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