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(DAILY OUTLOOK AFGHANISTAN)Children are seen as the builders of a nation. Educated, healthy and motivated children guarantee a prosperous future. Therefore, it is advisable and many countries practically strive to protect the children from all sorts of evils and promise them better living standards. It is essential that all the people in the world and all the governments realize that they have a special responsibility towards the children which they have to fulfill in every condition.
Moreover, special attention should be given to the children who are living in instable societies, like Afghanistan, among myriads of economic and social problems and who have to undergo violence and discrimination, as well. There are various ways in which children are influenced, but one of the most direct ways is that they are directly dragged or pushed in the war. There have been various cases, in Afghanistan, when children have been recruited by the insurgents and they have been made to fight the wars in different parts of the country.
The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has once again voiced out concerns in this regard and has condemned any sort of situation wherein children are used to fight a war.
UNICEF press officer, Sayed Maroof Hamdard, has said in a statement, “Involving children in the conflict, no matter by any group, is cause for concern.” Recently some children, who were fighting against Afghan security forces, were arrested in Badakhshan province.
The acting governor of Badakhshan, Shah Waliullah Adeeb, confirmed that child soldiers are being used by Taliban in the province. At the same time, the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) has also admitted to the existence of child soldiers, saying Taliban bring these children from Madrassas to the battle field.
There have been many incidents of suicide attacks in different parts of the country, wherein the attacker were below 16 years of age. Apart from that the children are also welcomed by the militant groups with the intention to have a cadre that they can train in accordance to their own will, within their training camps.
There have been certain cases, as well, when security forces have used children for the war; however, such incidents are very scarce. And, since 2011, there have been improvements in this regard and steps are being taken to eliminate the trend. In 2011 an action plan was signed by Afghan government with the UN to end the recruitment of Afghans who are under 18 years of age in security forces. And, the passing of legislation by the Wolesi Jirga, earlier, to criminalize underage recruitment in ANSF further added to the optimism. There are hopes that if the commitments are pursued with complete determination, its practical implication would be made possible by all means. Recruitment of the children both by Taliban militants and security forces will definitely result in violence against children and their abuse. The attitude of a trained militant clearly depicts the fact that the training sessions in their training camps do involve severe kind of violence and maltreatment. Another type of violence includes the killing and maiming of the children because of the conflict-related violence.
This also includes accidental killings or injuries by the national and international security forces, which, though relatively are much lower than the ones committed by the terrorists. Unfortunately, most of the deaths or injuries in this regard have been the result of the violent attacks of the terrorists on schools and hospitals. Such attacks do not only take precious lives but tend to inflict fear among parents and children regarding attending schools.
There are many other ways in which insecurity and indifference influence children. Many children, because of improper birth or because of lack of health facilities and insufficient nutrition either die in the very beginning of their lives or able to drag on their lives with certain physical deformities and serious diseases. Most of the children of the society are not able to have access to education, either because of the financial problems or the traditional hatred of the parents for modern schooling system.
The girls in this regard suffer even to more extreme levels. Moreover, the children who do not get a chance to be admitted in school are then sent out for labor so that they can prove to be a helping hand for their parents and in the process they are left at the mercy of the social evils.
Child labors are exposed to crimes and maltreatment to a risky extent, especially the ones who are employed by shop-owners, mechanics and small firms. They are even put to violent treatment by their employers on pity matters. Further, another concerning factor regarding the plight of the children in Afghanistan is the growing number of child beggars.
Families, stricken with intense poverty, do not hesitate even to send their children for begging. Apart from that, there are professional beggars who utilize the helpless children for the begging purposes.
The security of the children against all sort of violence, their proper nourishment and their character development are the most important considerations to contemplate on, if the government is really serious to safeguard the rights of the children. The same children are going to be the builders of future; their proper care should be ascertained through every possible means. Apart from the government the members of the society can also play a tremendous role in diminishing violence against the children and uplifting their morale.
