The World Children’s Day
Farooq Bandey
World Children’s Day is being celebrated on 20th November every year. To celebrate the day a theme is created by the UNICEF and for 2021 they have chosen a very important theme for the day, and the theme is to help children to recover from interruptions and learning losses experienced through the pandemic in the last two years.
We all are aware of the fact that amid the Covid-19 pandemic, schools across India have been closed for almost two years now. While many students were able to take advantage of online classes, many were not. Some parents want schools to reopen, while some still prefer online classes.
The reasons for offline classes in the country are numerous including the substantial expenses for the purchase of electronic gadgets for their children by the parents already under stress from the loss of livelihood due to the pandemic besides the weak economic conditions of a large number of the parents. Therefore, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for the safe reopening of schools and learning recovery on World Children’s Day 2021.
In different countries Children’s Day is being celebrated on different dates. In India it is being celebrated on November 14th which is also the birth anniversary of the Ist prime minister of independent India, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru.
Children are the future of the nation. Protection of children’s rights, their welfare, best education and training should be the first goal of any nation.
There are two aspects to the saying “Children are like flowers”; one is that children are as lovely as flowers and the flourishing of any home or society. The other side is that children are mentally and physically sensitive, fragile and immature, so they need special care, love and protection from parents and society.
This day is celebrated with the aim of alleviating the problems faced by the children and improving the welfare of the children so that the children can become useful citizens of the society.
If we take a closer look, the bitter truth emerges that children are an oppressed section of our society. While they are deprived of basic rights to sports, recreation, education and health, they also continue to be victims of ugly and heinous social acts such as forced labour, kidnapping for ransom and sexual violence.
The Constitution of India contains provisions for the protection of children. Article 15 empowers the state to provide special facilities for women and children.
Section 24 prohibits children under the age of 14 from working in any hazardous workplace. Section 39 (c) prohibits child exploitation, moral and material deprivation. Section 45 Advocates for free and compulsory education for children.
Many countries have signed international treaties on children’s rights, but little has been done. Even though there are laws in the constitution of the country, they are not implemented in the right spirit. As a result, society as a whole has become increasingly insecure for children. News of sexual abuse and harassment of children, murders are reported by electronic and print media on almost daily basis and it is believed that the higher authorities will take notice and soon the perpetrators will be brought to justice. The echo of the Ist incident does not go away from the ears that the second incident raises its head.
There are many types of violence against children, such as domestic violence, sexual abuse, complete child neglect, online violence, and so on. Sexual and other forms of sexual abuse of a child at home are perpetrated by close relations, step-parents or friends who come into the home, housekeepers, tuition teachers, and strangers outside the home, friends or neighbors.
Violence against children of any kind has serious negative effects, both immediate and long-term on the psychology of the abused child. As a result, brain development is impaired, irreparable damage is done to the nervous and immune systems, cognitive impairment develops in children, mental health problems occur, interest in self-harm is increased or there may be concerns that the tendency to abuse other children may develop.
In our country, children constitute more than one third of the total population but their interests have never been given priority. Their rights continue to be violated day after day. In recent days, Code-19 has also taken effect. According to the World Economic Forum Report 2020, the impact of Code-19 on children has been such that their educational activities have come to a standstill and their mental stresses has increased and are still affected –
The purpose of celebrating Children’s Day is to end violence against children, to provide them with the best education and training, to ensure their good health and to prevent child labour.
There is no doubt that children are the architects of the nation and the leaders of the future. Their proper education and good training is the reason for the formation of a righteous society.
Only a healthy and vigorous tree can produce delicious fruits and fragrant flowers.
Parents have a responsibility to provide their children with good food, good clothes and other necessities of life, as well as their education and proper social training. According to experts, a child goes through two stages of training after birth:
1. Childhood period – This period lasts from one year to seven years. In this period, the child does not have the ability to receive direct training, because he is unaware of his world in this period.
2. The period from the age of seven to fourteen years – in this period the intellect gradually increases and is ready for intellectual activity. In this period they can learn and get education and training.
Training in the first period should not be straightforward and at this age the parents should not be too strict in restraining or ordering anything; Rather, he should be provided with a good environment, a clean atmosphere and a suitable friend(s); so that he can be trained and learn literature from his environment and society. This is the age in which morality is first laid and it preserves good memories and proper behavior about its environment.
In the second age the child should not be left free and his mistakes should not be overlooked, but he should be restrained from his rudeness, to teach him discipline and to prevent him from wasting time in excessive and unproductive activities, etc.,
The last and most important thing is that parents should keep in mind regarding their children’s rights. The parents should not make any discriminate on the basis of sex among their children. Justice should be done on every step so that they feel its goodness, become aware of its importance, consider it necessary for their life and society and avoid injustice, oppression and all kinds of discrimination.
It is not small, so it is very important to take care of the smallest thing in the implementation of justice and fairness. Hazrat Nu’man bin Bashir (Riz) narrates that my father gave me some of his wealth. My mother said, “I will not agree to it unless you make the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) a witness.” So my father came to the service of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) so that you could make him a witness to the gift given to me. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked: “Have you given such gifts to all your sons?” My father said, “No.” Upon hearing this, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Fear Allah and do justice to your children.” So my father took the gift back from me.
If you do not work with justice and equality among the children, then all the children will not be the same even in good behavior and obedience, but the children who will feel deprived and are not treated by their parents well , will feel injustice and the spirit of disobedience of parents will seed in them.
Children’s educational, economic and social needs as well as psychological needs are very important and require the attention of parents. Parents should pay attention not only to the educational and economic needs of the child; but also to understand the social and psychological needs of the child and make appropriate arrangements to satisfy these needs, to set aside some time for the children throughout the day, with them. Talk to them, be kind to them, ask for their concerns and be sure to resolve them, etc.
One of the tragedies of modern times is that parents do not have time for their children whereas in the old days parents used to give time to children, tell them stories and tales and train them intellectually. In this way the psychological needs of the children were met and also the education and training.
It is very important to bring awareness among the parents and guardians of the children on Children’s Day.
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