A radio debate was held in Radio Killid yard on Saturday to assess the hard works on the children and the rights of children in national laws and international conventions.
The debate was broadcasted live and continued for one and half hour.
The experts and representatives of organization that are working regarding the rights of children discussed the factors of hard works on the children and regarding the solution of the issue as well rights of the children.
Presence of a number of 100 children working hard in the city and their parents in the debate was the prominence of the debate that the present responsible, the audience of Radio Killid heard the questions and their grievances lively.
The children who are the most affect category of the community are faced with numerous problems.
Hard work, psychological and physical violence, sex abusage and having no access to education are their main problems.
The Human Rights institutions have counted the condition of children agitating in Afghanistan.
Based on the statistics at present 30 percent of children are busy on the hard work and tiresome works.
Nonattendance of authorities from ministry of Labor, Social affairs, Martyrs and Disabled provoked the criticism in spite of their advanced promise.
In the debate as well as the participants, the audience of the Radio Killid also propounded their questions through phones and shared their ideas about the hard works on the children.
Engineer Mohammad Yusuf the director of ASHIANA organization told that any work which prohibits the growth, recreation and education of the children can be counted hard work.
Mr. Yusuf addressed the poverty, war and disability and added that the government should plan programs for solving the economic problems of these children.
Voice: Engineer Mohammad Yusuf says there are different factors that cause the children to do hard work, economic factors are the causes and we all know that the war in three decades is origin for the economic problems that has effaced the all the economic bases and the families have to make their children to do hard work to earn livelihood; on the other hand the disability in family is the other factor which makes the children to do hard works, there are other factors as well which keeps the disabled away from education.
The children never want to do hard work on the roads, but having no shelter and compulsion causes that do hard and tiresome works for the continuation their life so this is the responsibility of government and other institutions to provide better life conditions.
Government of Afghanistan signed the international convention for children rights in 1994.
The international convention for the children rights prohibits any work that be counted the interference in children education; the activities harmful to the health, psychological and bodily growth of children and makes the governments to avoid the employment of the children in military service and armed conflicts.
In item number fourth of article number 13 it is insisted: Employment of youth with less than 18 years age in works harmful to health in which disability is imaginable and delay the physical growth of children is prohibited.
But Waheedullah Tokhi the manager of Children rights in TDH organization says that in spite of the signing the international convention of the children rights by Afghan government the government of Afghanistan has not done any activity regarding the prohibition of the hard and tiresome on the children.
He also confirmed that any work which prohibits the physical, psychological and educational growth of the children can be called hard work or tiresome work.
Voice: Waheedullah Tokhi says that child is told to the one who has not completed age of 18 years, international convention of children rights and government of Afghanistan which is an Islamic country and Islam respects the rights of children and women so the government of Afghanistan should prepare the education groundwork for them in educational institutes.
According to Tokhi, considering to signing the international convention of children rights in 1994 and the laws in force in the country the government of Afghanistan should take serious steps for the preparation the education groundwork for children and prohibition of the hard and tiresome works by the children.
At the same time Husain Nasrat the coordinator of the development and support of children rights in Human Rights Commission deemed the unawareness of the community regarding the rights of children as one of the factor for the hard and tiresome work on the children and counted the role of awareness in decrement of children’s problems.
Mr. Nasrat adds in spite of the fact that development has taken place and now the number of students has increased in the schools, but considering the less unavailability of access of millions of children to school and health, children’s loses due to military conflicts and hard and tiresome works on the children, the government has failed in support of children rights.
Voice: Mr.Nasrat says, “Unawareness of children and their parents regarding the rights of children is one of the main factors which causes the hard work on the roads, sex abusage of the children and other violations against children. Giving awareness to children, parents and generally to community is the solution way for the problem, in that case everyone will know that the children of today are those build tomorrow so if we can improve the life for children in fact we will have a bright future for us as well as for our children.
Findings of the Human Rights of Afghanistan shows that economic weakness, loans of families and unawareness families and children from the rights of children are the main factors of hard and tiresome works on the children.
According to the coordinator of the development and support of children rights in Human Rights Commission, Findings of the Human Rights of Afghanistan shows that economic weakness is the main cause of the making the children on hard and tiresome work.
At the same time the children who are busy on hard works on the roads and their parent who were in radio debate; showed economic problems, war, and migration as main cause for the proceeding the hard work by children.
The mentioned children told that inexistence of caretaker in the housed or being disabled their fathers have coerced them to do hard and tiresome works.
Voice: Naweeda on of the students of ASHIANA says that due the economic problems and illness of the father she has to sell plastic bags on the roads.
Najman one of the other children says that her father is hand disabled and he has to unload the melon and water melon in fruit market after school.
Another child has fled from Helmand along with family to Kabul says that had stated the studies in Kabul and after school working in a tailoring shop.
Farzana one of the mothers says that due to economic problems and her disabled husband she cannot provide the livelihood so she has to send her three children to work on the road to solve the economic problems.
Mukhtar Kakar in charge of Night project of TDH; even the children are working on the roads up to midnights as among them children under age nine are also included.
According to Kakar the children who are working on the roads don’t have access to the education some of them that are going to schools have to work late in the night.
He warns that these people are faced with risks such as sex abusage as well as with smuggling by profiteers.
Kakar adds that the hard works not only solve economic of the families in long term rather they increase the poverty because the children lose the education opportunity and they will have to continue hard and tiresome works.
Voice: Kakar says that he along with 15 people’s team goes in the night time and see the children between 7-17 years busy on car washing, bag selling and turning to smoke the wild rue which has caused that the children be away from the education.
Based on his words, the children are busy to midnight on the road as they face with psychological problems, night fear, insecurity, smuggling and abusage.
The speakers counted the children the future makers of the country and requested the serious attention of the families and government for the solving their problems.
The authorities of organizations that are working in the field of children rights assesses very valuable the holding of this type of the debates for the awareness of people about the rights of children and other affected people.
Based on the authorities’ words, the holding of this type of the debates will provide the opportunity to the effected groups to propound their ideas and questions directly to the authorities.
Here are the statements of the Engineer. Mohammad Yusuf the director of ASHIANA organization, Waheedullah Tokhi children’s rights program manager in TDH organization and Husain Nasrat coordinator of children’s rights support and development programs in independent commission of human rights regarding the importance of holding this type of debates:
Voice: Engineer Mohammad Yusuf the director of ASHIANA says that the holding this type of debates is very important because the voices of children who are working on the road and are faced with problems was heard, it will be better if governmental authorities also participate in the debates.
Waheedullah Tokhi says that the programs which are broadcasted by Killid radio regarding the children situation are very useful and will cause the raise of the community awareness regarding children rights.
He says that this would be better if governmental authorities especially a representative of ministry of work, social affairs, martyrs and disabled also participate in the debate because this is the responsibility of the government to provide work opportunity.
Mr. Husain Nasrat believes that the awareness through any possible way is very important and the present debate had more effect because the authorities of governmental and nun governmental institutions can hear directly the problems of the children from the children.
This program had been held through support of European Union by Killid radio under the Change in Life campaign.
The Change in Life campaign covers the most injured groups of the community such as children, women and disabled and will continue for two years.
It is due that such type of debates will be held within two months once in the presence of the authorities and the injured groups by Killid radio.
The goal of this program is to give awareness to the people about the rights of the most injured category namely women, disabled and children and good behavior of the people with them.
Sajad Mohammed
