Saying yes to children

FE Team | Published: February 16, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Tarannum Sobnom
At 14 Dulal works at a bus. His job is to shout incessantly to bring in passengers and then struggles to send them into the bus. Locally known as "helper" he has never thought about going to school. His family can't afford to send him to school. Instead the family desperately needs his paltry income to survive.
In Bangladesh, it's very easy to get a boy like Dulal for hazardous work like that of conducting a bus. Such child workers in return get only a small amount of money as wages. Thousands of boys from poor families are compelled to do various works to help their parents who can't afford to send their children to school.
"I work for money and put my best efforts in the job. But we often are subjected to maltreatment by police, passengers and the drivers,'' says Dulal who earns 30 takas a day from nearly 12 hours of work.
He says there are passengers who don't hesitate to slap him or pull his ears when he tries to guides the passengers into a crowded bus. "They don't understand my problem. There is little I can do here. The buses on this route always run overloaded and it's my job to take in as many passengers as possible."
Pervin, a 10-year-old girl, works as a domestic help in a house where her main duty is to take care of a two-year-old child.
Pervin has little complaint against her employer. The employer, a young housewife, gives her food and clothes regularly but whenever the baby cries for any reason, the housewife blames and scolds her.Many housewives even beat up these little girls who are compelled to work because of poverty.
Instead of getting sympathy, they are subjected to torture and forced to work 18 hours a day. Killing of housemaids for simple reason has also become common in Bangladesh.
In this context, the United Nations launched a unique programme worldwide: "Say Yes to Children" to protect the rights of children, make the people more careful and sympathetic to them and above all stop repression and abuse of children.
Children are being abused worldwide but the situation is worse in developing and under-developed countries of Asia and Africa.
In many African countries where AIDS is spreading in an epidemic form, children's main duty is to attend the AIDS patients. They have to earn bread for their families instead of going to school. They are deprived of education, health and all other fundamental rights.According to UNCEF, around 10 lakh children are being used as sex slaves every year in the developing world.
Most of them are kidnapped and forced to become sex workers while many are compelled to do so due to poverty and lack of care and guidance of their families.
Bangladesh is no exception in this worldwide phenomenon. A survey of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum says a total of 361 children were raped in the country and 41 of them were killed after rape in 2001.
Besides, a total of 515 children were killed in various incidents and 177 committed suicide.Children are widely used by criminals in terrorist activities, particularly as helpers in making bombs.
Many of them are used by political parties as pickets during hartal and strikes that sometimes proves dangerous for them. In 2001, a total of 36 people were killed and 179 injured in bomb explosions and most of the victims were children.
However, these statistics were compiled from newspaper reports and the actual number of dead and injured could be much higher.
The United Nations declared an international charter for child rights to protect them from dangers and ensure their wellbeing worldwide. Bangladesh formally ratified the charter on September 2, 1999.
Apart from government initiatives, many non-government voluntary organisations work for child rights and their activities got a further momentum after the UN launched "Say Yes to Children" programme emphasising 10 issues relating to children's welfare and protection of their rights.
The unique programme was designed to reach each and every child throughout the globe without any discrimination, and with sincere efforts to help them lead a habitable life and grow up with all facilities, and protect them from all sorts of dangers and discrepancies.
Ensuring proper care for every child, protecting them from HIV/AIDS, stopping child repression and exploitation, providing them with education health facilities, keeping them away from war and conflicts, making investment for children to alleviate their poverty and, above all, making the planet livable for children are among the aims and objectives of the programme.
Legendary South African leader Nelson Mandela formally inaugurated the worldwide campaign on April 26, 2001 and it was launched in Bangladesh on April 27 by the then President and the Prime Minister.
Information and Research Officer of Shishu Adhikar Forum Shahin Ara Begum says besides the international charter on child rights, many countries have laws to protect their rights but the UN felt that these could not ensure total protection of child rights due to lack of awareness.
"It is essential to create awareness among the people so that they attach importance on child-related issues while taking any decision," she points out.
Shahin Ara Begum says certain things cannot be resolved through law, such as guardian's decisions about their children regarding their education, hobby, relationship with others, etc. "Many guardians compel their children to abide by their unilateral decision."
Abdul Ahad, Head of Finance, Save the Children USA, says sometimes the guardian's decisions, which the children do not like, cast negative impact on their tender minds. "In most cases, we want to force the children. But we should convince them showing reasons," he added.
Every child has some needs and some of those may be unjust or unacceptable but they should have the right to express. The essence of the "Say Yes to Children" is that the children should have a positive reply from others in every expression on their needs and requirement.
However, millions of destitute children in Bangladesh are still deprived of their fundamental rights and the impact of the "Say Yes to Children" programme is very little on them.
"The programme needs more time to serve the children on the streets although there are some positive advancement in providing them with health and education facilities," says Rizwan-ul-Alam, Assistant Communication Officer of UNICEF Bangladesh office.
Prof Zubaida Gulshan Ara, Chairperson of Bangladesh Shishu Academy thinks that programmes like "Say Yes to Children" is essential not only for improving the living standard of children but also to help in their mental growth and flourishing their talent.
— NewsNetwork