Violence Against Disabled Children Deprives them of a Childhood

I remember back in the days when I used to go play outside. Not just outside our house, but outside our neighborhood. I had many friends and life was fun. No one was afraid of going out and play. Parents were confident that their children were safe out there. And for that, we were left to be the little explorers that we needed to be. There were boundaries of course, there were curfews of course, but we had more freedom than our children today (sigh).

Just a couple of weeks ago I was chatting with my friends, remembering old times, etc, etc, etc. Then we looked at our children and the life we have created for them. The life society has created for them. The life filled with fear; fear of being kidnapped, trafficked, raped and even killed. Then we started talking about the killings of people with albinism around some African countries (including ours). We thought of the children who have been mutilated, slaughtered…killed…and the children who witnessed such violence against their family members/neighbors/friends. We thought of children who are in hiding because of violence against people with albinism. Children who were supposed to go to school, play, explore their world. How society is creating social barriers, that further excludes children with albinism from participating. It is saddening to see that instead of improving the already non-conducive-disabling-environment, we are making it worse. We have reached a point where one would easily and fearlessly slaughter a child…a disabled child…. a child with albinism, for their own personal gain. And disappear without a trace.

Parents of impaired children worry about how their child is treated by the society surrounding them. Will they be bullied, excluded and discriminated against? Will they be pitied because of their impairment? As a parent it is difficult to allow your child to go to school, to allow your child to play, to allow your child to just be a child, to walk the streets with your child, simply because they have albinism and you fear they might be the next victim. Have we reached a point where it is okay to strip a child of their childhood because of fear? What happened to the rights of a child? What happened to the rights of the impaired….the disabled

Most African countries in an effort to protect the rights of the child and the rights of persons with disabilities ratified and signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African countries) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability. Several policies and Laws that protect the rights of children, as well as the rights of people with disabilities, have also been in various African nations. All these are commendable efforts. But is introducing and ratifying Policies, Laws and UN conventions enough? How do we ensure that we adhere to these National and International Instruments? How are these instruments implemented? How do we protect the rights of the child and disabled persons? For some time now we have heard about the killings of people with albinism. What has been done? How has ratifying International convection(s) helped us to stop such evils?

I have heard that people with Albinism are being slaughtered because of witchcraft, and/or ignorance. But I believe that they are being slaughtered because we have turned a blind eye to the villains. I again wonder if such villains would have disappeared easily if the victim was a child, sibling, spouse, or parent of someone of high caliber in the Government. How can we make children with Albinism feel safe and secure in their own societies?

The Africa that I envision is a continent where children and childhood matters, a place where all children enjoy their childhood and are not seen as ‘passive beings awaiting to become adults’. A place where those with impairments are not seen as Persons with Disabilities but Persons with Abilities because the social-environment support their limited capacities and empowers them, a place where we do not live with the fear of being slaughtered for witchcraft purposes!

Today it is those with albinism that are being killed, someday it will be anyone with any impairment. Then it will be anyone.

So, let us not keep a blind eye to such evils. Let us not be quiet. Let us voice up for the voiceless. Let us unveil the perpetrators. Let us put an end to the killing of albinos.

Esl

Human being or Becomings?

Every parent thinks about the kind of person their child will become in the future. Yes, we all think about it. However, thinking about it is one thing and Imposing these thoughts (or call them expectations) to our children is another. I once had a friend whose future path was already decided for by her parents. Her parents placed more importance on what she was supposed to become later and not what she was at the present. They wanted their baby girl to become a scientist, just like them...I remember this kid..she was rarely out of the house....she was busy studying science all the time? We had another mutual friend who was not allowed in the little scientist's house...this mutual friend was not very good in Math and she wanted to be a musician.....Of course, the little scientist's parents thought she was a bad influence on their little scientist in the making. Fast forward, the musician wanna-be is now our scientist...an engineer. And the little-scientist-in the making actually became an HR! 

While thinking of the children as young-future-adults, parents forget that a child is first a child....and children like trying new things, they like to explore.  

Seeing children as becoming means we see them as 'adults in the making'...the future adults... forcing us to neglect the realities of the present child...the being child. When we look at children as 'Being' it means we see them as social actors who can construct their own childhood.

We cannot Ignore our future expectations (for our children), but we should also not ignore the child in the present and the whole idea of childhood. 

We should not focus only on what skills/abilities we need our future adults to have and forget that as children they also have abilities. As children they are, can be, and should be active agents.
Esl

Children are Capable of Making Decisions - Active Agency

Active agency sees children as agents rather than actors in their society. An individual is an ‘actor’ when they do something and is an ‘agent’ when they do something with other people, make things happen and contributes broader processes in their society.

When we see children as actors it means we see them as active persons in creating their own lives. But when we see children as agents it means we realize their capabilities in making a change, not only in their own lives but also in the lives of those around them.

Active agency creates an environment that gives children a sense of worth, not only in school but as society members; children see themselves as individuals whose opinions matter, especially when they have a positive impact on them and others; and they develop resilience by being involved in challenging tasks.

Active-agency creates children that are more confident of their own world, are innovators and inventors because they have been given a space to dare/participate. When an environment that supports active-agency is created, children become more independent, thus positive outcomes for children are optimized. 

ESL

I will Marry When--------Let Girls Learn.....Say NO TO CHILD MARRIAGE