States should respect conventions on children’s rights
Globally, children have been ignored by statistics and neglected by policy action hence remain silent victims and suffer daily from violence, exploitation and abuse.
States and traditions have normalised human rights violations and this is transitioning to affect the younger generations. Some cultures, for instance, continue to encourage child marriage which limits children’s potential.
In many communities in East Africa, children are married off from as early as nine years old. The East Africa Community (EAC) partner States are signatories for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC).
Out of the 41 articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article (1) provides that everyone under 18 years of age has all the rights in the Convention. Consequently, Article (5) acknowledges that the governments should respect the rights and responsibilities of families to guide their children so that, as they grow up, they learn to exercise their rights properly.
The regional Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Bill that is being debated provides an opportunity for adolescent girls to continue with their education if they become pregnant before completing her education.
It requires partner States to develop and implement mechanisms to provide vocational skills and career development and training for adolescent girls and young women who are unable to continue with their education after giving birth.
Tanzania, however, has been put on the spot for violations of multiple human rights and gender violations against adolescent girls including mandatory pregnancy tests, expulsion of pregnant adolescent girls from school, illegal detention of pregnant girls, total ban of adolescent girls from education post-childbirth, and failure to enable adolescent girls’ access sexual and reproductive health services and information.
It is estimated that globally, up to one billion children aged between two and 17 years have experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence or neglect.
Just like the impact among families, communities and nations, violence against children has lifelong impact on health and well-being which can negatively affect cognitive development and results in underperformance and likely to affect the next generation.
It worth noting that exposing children to any form of violence increase their risk for HIV/Aids, depression, suicide and substance abuse and re-victimisation in adulthood.
Tanzania and the other East Africa states should take into consideration some of the recommendations provided by the ACERWC experts to reform policies.
They include prohibiting mandatory pregnancy tests in schools and health facilities; undertaking steps to prevent expulsion of pregnant and married girls from school by providing applicable laws and policies; investigating cases of detention of pregnant girls and release of detained pregnant girls under interrogation on who impregnated them; stopping arbitrary and illegal arrests of pregnant schoolgirls; readmission of schoolgirls who have been expelled due to pregnancy and wedlock and providing adolescent sexuality education and friendly sexual reproductive health services.
Tanzania has ratified the UNCRC, a very progressive Bill of Rights, yet it clearly fails to keep its children safe. The highest rates of child marriage in the world are from Tanzania with 37 per cent of girls marrying before the age of 18.
States need to end the very retrogressive and discriminatory education policies and ensure that mechanisms to end child violations are established and implemented.
It is high time States/religions stop hiding under the guise of discipline while using social norms to support the use of violence against children.
—The writer is a sexual and reproductive health and rights advocate
