FEATURE : Children deserve their rights

There are various forms through which children are abused. Abusing a child through violating his or her right has eaten-up the society despite efforts to doing away with it. This can be attributed to many factors but it’s important to note that parents’ ignorance about children’s rights contributes to the abuse. Children are mistreated and have their rights abused given certain factors beyond their efforts to resist. This among others can be based on age. As young as 6-12, some children have no knowledge about their rights or privilege. In that case, other people take such advantages to deny and mistreat the young, which sometimes cause permanent effects to the lives of children. However, there is need to address characters that may ruin the future of the young generation. This can be through highly discouraging tendencies that result into life loosing meaning. In this context, children are mistreated on grounds that may be minor and baseless but end-up causing everlasting damage. Many times due to wrong reasons, children are denied the right to education. This can never be underestimated, basing on the centre role education plays towards achieving the desired life style alongside building knowledge based economy. Sometimes education is ignored with failure to identify its impact that can easily ruin the future. Surely, based on the immediate and future impact of specific denial of rights, it calls for formidable efforts to fight the tendency. Marcel Sibomana, Rwandan national delegate of Working Children and Youths in Rwanda, said that sensitizing children on their rights and position in decision making on certain issues is necessary and part of education. He explained that children should be brought up in an environment were they are aware of what is meant for them and they limits. “Sensitizing children about their rights, freedom and limits is away of creating awareness, a suitable channel of educating them,” Sibomana said. He explained that the mission behind the African Movement for Working Children and Youth (AMWCY) to which Rwanda is a member is to ensure that African children are brought up in the real sense of a free child. He added that children should be considered so as to be in their full responsibilities to come or in the near future. In that case, he condemned elders who deny children their rights saying that this can easily cause permanent effects to children. “Children are permitted to good health, self expression, education and a lot more when such is denied their lives may not turn out to be as expected,” he said adding that efforts should be made to ensure that such dangers are dealt with. AMWCY representatives at regional level meet annually to share challenges so as to resolve alternative solutions to ensure that the programme to advocate for children’s rights gains positive results. Representatives use the opportunity to visit and sensitize children from some Children Homes and orphanage. Last month, Rwanda was the host of a two weeks regional workshop which attracted representatives from over 10 African countries including Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia among others. Alice Umutoni, a parent who also attended the meet said that African children face many problems but inferiority complex is at the lead. However, she attributed it to failure of parents to show love to children as in most cases parents are too furious to their children. “Some parents do not show love to children, instead they become wild over certain things that can even be solved peacefully. Such tendency place children in situations of fear and panic,” she said adding that it’s not possible for such a child to have free interaction with his or her parent. In that case therefore, she attributed any bad character that a child may come-up with to inferiority complex. Saying that “Such a child will not be free and open enough to say what he or she wants, instead she does it the way he feels secure.” She added that in the long run children may feel secure in a wrong and destructive way, hence distorting his future either in education or in another way. Teaching children about their rights is commendable, but educating parents the importance of these rights to ensure effective implementation is equally important. Email.mugoyag@yahoo.com