Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

Afghan Children, the Unluckiest!

1st June marks the International children's day. In Afghanistan hardly people know about it. Yesterday, although there should have been programs at all levels aimed at creating public awareness about rights of children, no significant effort from government, civil cities, and human/children rights organizations was in place. Children taking birth in poor Afghan families are the unluckiest ones. Deprived of happy childhood life, education, basic health facilities, love of family and vulnerability to various kinds of social threats, the life of Afghan children are really miserable. Today millions of children are out of school. Majority of them are used for certain hard works, sexual abuses, terrorism and drug trafficking and other sorts of crimes. Children must be unbound and live a tension free life but the children in Afghanistan have to win bread for their families from dawn to dusk whether it is scorching summer or freezing winter.

Due to long term conflicts in Afghanistan (invasion of Soviet Union, the Internal War and the brutal era of Taliban) thousands of children became orphans. Many have now become adults but are illiterate, non professional and therefore, extremely poor. No significant change in the condition of Afghan children can be observed. While the Afghan and other world leaders are busy as bee in resolving political issues, the question about the future of children is becoming more complex to answer. It is feared that majority of these children would go astray by entering the world of crimes instead of remaining a source of hope for Afghanistan.

Children are conceived as the future of a nation. Today the children of Afghanistan need to be nurtured in a peaceful environment. But peace is going to remain a dream for Afghanistan as no end to militancy is visible. The entire key to the success in Afghanistan is education of the young towards tolerance, understanding and respect for all faiths and cultures and empowering them with basic aid, school supplies and economic opportunities, while providing security from social evils.

In Afghan society, the rights of children are violated at high levels. This is due to lack of outreach programs and efforts by concerned organizations. For activities to support children, children day is a good occasion and therefore such days should be properly utilized.