<i>The age to demand rights? </i>
The children on the right might be learning the difference between what is right and what is wrong or the directions right and left. Some of them might have even learnt those by now. But they definitely do not understand what children's rights are, let alone stand in the scorching sun for over one hour demanding them. Bangladesh Council for Children Welfare (BCCW), a platform of children rights bodies, kept these children, numbering around 200, standing in a human chain in front of Jatiya Press Club “to demand their rights” in observance of World Children's Day. Of the total, a staggering 70 children were physically challenged, using crutches and wheelchairs, standing with exhaust smoke pumping onto their faces from passing motor vehicles from 3:00pm to 4:15pm. “We kept them standing considering their age. Otherwise, we might have had them walk in a procession,” said BCCW Secretary Nurul Karim Chowdhury Jinnah. “Human chain with children should be symbolic, not over long periods,” said Kafil Uddin, director of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum, a platform of 263 children rights bodies. Kafil, however, could not identify BCCW as a child rights body.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments