Children suffer as govts make empty pledges
World Children’s Day today
Courtesy New age 6/10/09
Shahidul Islam Chowdhury
Children have continued to be deprived of their rights and security as successive governments remained indifferent to their election pledges to allow children to grow as worthy citizens, child rights activists said.
Many children, especially the girls, fall prey to frequent physical and mental tortures, abuses, trafficking and exploitations as the government and the society fail to protect them from violations, they pointed out.
As World Children’s Day is being observed in
‘Most of the governments forgot their pledges to ensure rights of and protection for children after the elections,’ Wahida Banu, president of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum, told New Age Sunday.
‘In fact, political parties mention the rights and protection of children in their election manifestos only to attract the voters,’ she said.
She stressed that lawmakers and local government bodies must take responsibilities for the wellbeing of children in their respective constituencies. ‘MPs as well as chairmen of upazila and union parishads must be made accountable for their responsibilities in their areas.’
They BSAF officials said at a press conference Sunday that torture and abuse of children by their families, relatives and employers are increasing day by day.
About 15,000 children, most of them under 18, are engaged in prostitution across the country. In
The number of children living on the streets are about 0.65 million. Most of the 0.4 million house helps— 78 per cent of them are 6 to 17 years old girl children— have become victims of frequent physical and sexual abuses. Children are engaged in 430 types of hazardous works while use of children in begging is increasing day by day.
There is hardly any playground in most of the areas.
The BSAF announced a week-long programme to observe the World Children’s Day beginning from today.
On the first Monday of October each year, the United Nations and its member states observe World Children’s Day to create awareness about children’s rights and make societies more responsible to their development. A children’s week is also observed each year starting September 29.
The constitution, the Child Act 1974 and National Children Policy 1974 also describe the rights of children.
BSAF director M Kafil Uddin said only 265, out of nearly 62,000 registered NGOs, work for children subject to availability of funds.
Professor Ishrat Shamim of
She suggested that a separate ministry or department should be formed to ensure rights of children.
‘In most cases, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs gives emphasis on (adult) women issues as they can raise voice. Hardly anybody understands the tears and pains of children.’
Bangladesh Nationalist Party joint secretary general Selima Rahman said, ‘The governments could not uphold the electoral pledges for ensuring the rights of children as immediate issues like soaring prices of essentials and natural calamities including cyclone and flood override the children’s issues.’
State minister for women and children affairs Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury admitted that many children were deprived of basic rights. ‘It is a huge challenge for us to remove the obstacles to ensure the rights and security for children,’ she said.
She said the government will take realistic measures including updating the national children policy and the national action plan for children at the earliest.
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