Leave children out of GBV

IT is shocking to find that some parents out there will fight to the extent of denying their child(ren) basic human rights like the right to a birth certificate.

When the abusive party is a police officer - who is supposed to be the custodian of the law and human rights the more reason to worry.

Children deserve to be loved, respected and taken care of.

When parents fight or separate, they should always remember that the fight is between them and the children they sired do not deserve to suffer as a result.

Children’s rights in Zimbabwe cannot be emphasised on more as they are the key to a great future for the nation.

Although there are great efforts made by the Government towards the realisation of children’s rights, stories as the aforementioned are proof that more can still be done to ensure children’s rights are not abused.

These rights include the right to education, the right to express themselves freely, the right to food, the right to be treated equally, the right to freedom, the right to choose, the right to shelter . . .

We cannot have a nation that does not respect these rights or realise their meaning to society’s well-being.

The girl child in particular is not really enjoying most of these right as she is being married off too early, being denied access to education, not getting time to study because of chores heaped on her and many other reasons.

We all have a responsibility to fight for the rights of the girl child and to ensure that she does not continue to be a victim of social ills.

Child prostitution is one of the major monsters the girl child has to face in Zimbabwe.

The majority of children that have no access to education are girls. The percentage has been decreasing but there is still a percentage difference of more than seven percent compared to boy children who are not accessing education.

We, as a continent, need to go back to the reasons behind the commemoration of The International Day of the Girl Child.

There is need to end the suffering, injustices and all sad realities being faced by the African girl child.

How many African children have access to education, health services, food, shelter . . . all their basic necessities?

How many African children are enjoying all their rights as human beings?

The answers to the above questions are sad and worrying.

It is sad to note that 57 million children in Africa of primary school age are out of school, out of which 31 million are girls.

Even sadder is the fact that around 50 percent of those children are in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.