Children

Forget not the sheer joy of being a kid, remember how to play and laugh over nothing at all. For childhood fades all to soon, and for some it barely makes an appearance. Millions of children around the world are forced to work, enslaved, beaten and abused, cry themselves to sleep at night from hunger, and yet childhood remains something we all take for granted.

The right to play is the right of a child most taken for granted, and we must work to see that all children around the world, are able to play freely. Encourage children to use their imaginations and play, to run and jump, to build castles in the sand and forts in the backyard. Life is an adventure, and for a child the journey should be memorable.

Adjaratou, pictured above, was around 12 when her parents forced her to marry her maternal cousin, where she suffered countless abuses. When she refused her husband’s demands to do such things as cover her head, she was beaten, and therefore suffered two miscarriages (Too Young to Wed).

Adjaratou, is just one of the millions of girls and women in the western African nation of Mali, who was forced to marry as a child. Child marriage brings with it many associated children’s rights abuses and health issues, such as Female Genital Mutilation (which in Mali is as high as 90%), early childbirth (one in ten give birth by the age of 15), an increased risk for HIV/AIDS, poor to no education, and sexual and physical abuse. Child marriages also result in larger age differentials, as according to the Population Council the average age difference in Mali is 12.7 years, and 15.1 years for polygamous marriages.

“Child marriage has far-reaching health, social, economic, and political implications for the girl and her community. It truncates a girl’s childhood, creates grave physical and psychological health risks, and robs her of internationally recognized human rights.”(Health Consequences of Child Marriage in Africa -Dr. Nawal M. Nour)

The Convention on the Rights of the Child has no specific article on child marriage, however through it’s articles and outline, it does list numerous protective measures against child marriage. The convention lists a child as one under 18, and thus age is a clear violation of the convention, however some provisions allow this age to be lower, that said even lower legal ages are broken. Many Articles of the convention are clearly broken with the case of child marriage. Such as Article’s include The right to life, health, education, the right to be protected from harmful practices, the right to freedom from abuse and exploitation, and the right to participation.

In Mali the legal age for marriage is 18 for girls and 21 for boys, however Mali remains to have one of the most extreme number of cases of child marriage in the world. A girl may be allowed to legal marry from the age of 15, with her parents consent, however as in the case of Adjaratou, the child’s consent is more often than not given. According to the Mali Demographic and Health Survey 2001, 25% of girls were married by age 15, and 65% (out of woman 20-24 surrveryed) were married by the time they reached the age of 18.

The unfortunate case of child brides in Mali, is that they are far from alone, as child marriage is one of the most neglected children’s rights abuses. According to estimates from UNICEF now estimates that 60 million children under the age of 18, mostly girls, are already married without their full understanding or consent. Therefore the Population Council estimates that if child marriage continues undisturbed, another 100 million children will be forced into early marriage over the next ten years according to the Population Council.

Why are more efforts to end child marriage not being put into place, one may ask? In Mali the government must step up it’s efforts to enforce the laws regarding age of consent, and see that consent is really given by the bride. One must also note that in Mali many efforts by International aid organizations are being focused into the fight against Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.

“There hasn’t been a really concerted effort to address the issue [at the international level],” said Naana Otoo-Oyortey, a founding member of the Forum on Marriage and the Rights of Women and Girls, a network of mostly UK-based organizations who campaign against early marriage and violence against women. “It’s been a neglected issue.” (child marriage is a neglected problem)

The report Ending Child Marriage: A Guide for Global Policy Action, listed recommendations in the following areas; Enact, standardize and enforce national laws, Create an enabling environment for social change, Develop multi-sectoral program approaches and partnerships, Priority areas for policy and program development, and Strengthen research and data collection systems. These specific recommendations such as; “Strengthening the integration of child marriage prevention and support programs into other government sector initiatives, especially in the areas of health, education, HIV and employment”, increase access to health and education, “Combat all forms of violence against girls and women, especially sexual violence and abuse, through policies and programs focusing on prevention, treatment, counseling and legal protection”

In Mali and across the globe, child marriage remains heavily prevalent, and the international community must give the issue higher relevance on their agendas, in order to ensure that the rights of millions of girls are enforced and protected. Please see my earlier post on Child Marriage for further general information and reference links.

Links:
Child Marriage Fact Sheet - UNFPA
Child Marriage Fact Sheet - International Women’s Health Coalition
Population Council Child Marriage Briefing - Mail
Early Marriage: Child Spouses - UNICEF
Mali Statistics - UNCIEF

Use of treated nets reduces child malaria deaths in Kenya, as “some 13.4 million nets have been distributed in Kenya over the past five years to combat a disease that threatens more than 25 million people in a population of 34 million”. Children and pregnant woman are the must susceptible to the disease, and thus the WHO has made them a top priority in areas of high transmission, however the WHO is looking to achieve full coverage and eradication of the disease.

Malnutrition unacceptably high, in Togo, aid to start according to UNICEF In a country where acute malnutrition can reach as hight as 32%, aid cannot come a moment too soon, for many it may seem that aid has been too little, too late.

Millions of children globally suffer from anemia, low iron, and other vitamin and mineral deficiency’s, which have been labeled as the ‘hidden hunger’. However thanks to ‘Sprinkles’, a powdered micronutrients blended together, and placed in small packets similar to sweetener packets, vitamin and mineral deficiency is being reduced in children. “Over 750 million children worldwide … suffer from Vitamin Mineral deficiencies, with roughly half of child deaths associated with malnutrition”, and over 2 billion people world wide suffer from anemia (A sprinkle a day keeps anemia at bay). For just pennies a day this tasteless and colorless lifesaver can be added to any food with ease and convenience.

I am often asked a number of questions regarding to the feelings, views, and capabilities of children in our society, and while I state clearly now I am by far no expert on the matter of the mind of a child, and the statements are merely my views, thoughts and opinions on the questions at hand, all are intended to create and stir -up a discussion. Therefore I strongly encourage you to leave your own thoughts and ideas, in the comments section of this post.

Earlier this week I was asked the question, “what is the children’s perspective, ie what do they think, hopes, aspirations, fears, etc.?” I think this is a great topic for discussion, and one that is given little thought to by most. Unfortunately one I have delved into, but not as in depth as I would like. From my own discussions with children, it would be quite varied by age and somewhat by region. However children are much more preceptive to the issues of the global world than we give them credit for. Children are also very positive role models in society, especially in that of a developing society. I recently wrote about the Children’s Parliament in the DRC, which maybe of interest to you. In addition please see the postings that have been done on child humanitarians, in my Humanitarian Spotlight section.

I was also asked a series of questions, by a friend and I wanted to share my responses to him with you:

1) Do you think that children should be allowed to vote?
Honestly, with our system and topics of legislation, No. Mainly as I feel they are not the decisions that a child is yet ready to make. We have a hard enough time in this country getting our adults to vote. While I stated that I didn’t think children should be able to vote, I do believe there are a number of areas where, children of a certain age (varying on topic), could contribute to. Regardless of legally allowing a child to vote, we can not deny their voice, nor the fact that quite often they are paying better attention to the world than we are.

2)If they were able to vote what would they vote for?
From my own experiences with children, I think that they would vote for most issues of human rights, such as the death penalty, abortion, war, etc. Children have a clear and decisive mind, at a rather early age, especially if given the right environment to freely express themselves and develop their own opinions, therefore a child is probably less likely to be on the fence about many of the issues.

3) I had an interesting discussion tonight on this subject and the response was children would not know what they are voting for. Is that true?
I think the answer is a bit yes and no. On some issues they understand more than we give them credit, but on detailed policies I think it is asking too much. Ask a child if another child should be denied an education, should a man die for a certain crime, should we go to war, etc., and I think they have a clear understanding.

4) If children could vote and policies began to focus attention on pure concerns of children would there be a reduction of child trafficking?
Obviously again the issue of age comes into effect, for it could surely be said for most 13-17 year olds, could see the issues as clear as an 18 year old. Would their be a decrease in child trafficking if children could vote, is an interesting question. The answer I really don’t know. As the topic is only emerging into the public spotlight in recent years, its safe to say that many voting adults could not have curbed it for lack of information or policy to vote on. However if children where thrust into voting while in public spotlight, I could see an increase in passed legislation. The sad reality is we have many good laws around the world, and is in no way legal to hold a human as a slave, yet despite all of our laws and the age of our voters it continues.

Again I want to state these are only my thoughts based on my own work and experiences, I am not a child of today and therefore cannot speak from such a perspective. I know I have only touched on the topics, but I think these deserve some more thought and debate. I hear there is an upcoming TV show about kids running their own town, ‘Kid Nation’, of which there has been a great deal of debate over issues of abuse, which I will cover in a coming post. The show may be worth a watching as a social experiment, but I do know without a doubt, that kids are smarter than we give them credit for. However I look forward to hearing what all of you have to say. As and end note, I will talk directly with some of the children I work with to see if I can get some of their opinions on the site.

Links of Interest:
Inspiring Kids Make a Difference
Kids Helping Kids - UNICEF
Kids Help Kids

While you are enjoying this day off work, I urge you not to forget the millions of children around the world who are not.