2. Children's rights
This page introduces the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and looks at the impact of gender discrimination on girl’s lives, specifically in education.
The concept of childhood is dependent upon a variety of circumstances, but support for the principles of child rights has been almost universally endorsed. However, historically we see that governments have yet to agree on how best to support and implement children’s rights in early childhood.
Consider… A five-year-old cares for her sister alone
Before she heads of to work in a distant field, Kosala Devi feeds her two girls, washes their hands and faces, and prepares to leave. She locks the house behind her, and leaves with her sickle and hoe… Read more
Lalitha and Saritha are growing up in an environment where it is not unusual for children to take responsibility for their younger siblings. Do you think these children’s rights are being violated? Why or why not?
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was unanimously adopted by the United Nations in 1989. The CRC was adopted by more countries faster than any other human rights treaty. All United Nations member states, except for South Sudan and the United States, ratified the CRC. It put children’s rights on the political agendas of many countries.
The CRC outlines:
- the rights of children
- what is needed in order to protect them
- what is needed to foster environments where they not only survive but thrive
2019 marked the 30 year anniversary of the CRC. The UNICEF website is an excellent resource with a wealth of information about the CRC and highlights some of the achievements over the past 30 years as well as remaining challenges.
Listen as Oscar Kadenge, early childhood development manager, Kenya Country Program, PATH, describes the human rights-based approach to their work.
How does coming from a child rights perspective affect your work?
Children living with disabilities have rights
Children with disabilities are one of the most marginalized and excluded groups in society. Facing daily discrimination in the form of negative attitudes, lack of adequate policies and legislation, they are effectively barred from realizing their rights to healthcare, education, and even survival” (UNICEF, n.d., para 1).
Beliefs and attitudes about persons with disabilities vary widely around the world and influence policies and the provision of supports and services to enable them to fully participate in their societies. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children (CRC) along with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) provides legal frameworks for defending and promoting the rights of children with disabilities.
In your context, would you say the rights of children with disabilities are protected and promoted?
What supports are available to children and families early in life?
What do we know about people growing up and living with a disability? The following United Nations infographic makes the point that without data on the lives of people who live with disabilities, the chances for inclusion in policies, programs and services to improve their lives and wellbeing may be limited.
The next website, from WHO, tells us some key facts about how disabilities affect people worldwide.
How does the “invisibility of disability” affect the lives of young children living with disabilities?
How does it feel to be a child with a disability?
The following PLAN International video contains the voices of children talking about stigma, challenges, rights, and dreams for the future.
Girls have rights
Sometimes simply being born a boy or girl can have major implications for a child’s rights. Gender discrimination against women and girls is a major issue in many parts of the world. PLAN International’s report The state of the world’s girls 2015: Unfinished business, documents the positive changes that have occurred in the lives of girls since 2000 as well as identifying the challenges they still face around the world.
Although the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), specifies that all children have a right to education, millions of girls around the world are getting little or no schooling.
The 2018 infographic from Global Partnership for Education provides some very clear data on educational disparities for girls.
What have been some of the advances in girls’ education?
What challenges remain globally? In your context?
In the next video, a mother in Egypt describes why she pursued her own education through an adult preparation class as her children began formal schooling and explains why she did not have the opportunity to go to school as a child.
View | Mansur – prep class (1:09) Not available in this preview
Are there still barriers that stop girls from accessing education? Which girls and why?
What is being done to support girls’ education?
The reasons for not attending school varies and can range from cultural or religious preference of schooling for boys to girls staying home to provide care to other children and family members, to issues around safety that do not allow girls to venture from their homes.
Girls’ education yields some of the highest returns of all development investments, yielding both private and social benefits that accrue to individuals, families, and society at large” (The World Bank, 2009).
Listen to Dr. Alex Awiti, founder and director of the East Africa Institute at the Aga Khan University, Nairobi, explain some of the benefits of investing in women.
View | Awiti – invest in women (2:05) Not available in this preview
How does investing in women’s health, education, employment opportunities, etc. influence home life, child well-being, communities, and societies?
What roles can fathers play to create more opportunities for women at home and in society?
COVID-19 pandemic and children’s rights
The impact of COVID-19 on the lives of children around the world is extensive and children living in challenging circumstances particularly experiencing even more hardship. The Lancet editorial below outlines why children’s rights must be a key component of the pandemic response and future planning to provide a more equitable world for children.
As the conclusion of the reading states, “Children’s rights must be central in the recovery phase and in future planning, to regain lost ground and to accelerate progress towards a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable world for all.” In your region, have you seen progress in supporting children’s rights in the recovery phase and moving forward?
Although “big picture’” issues such as child rights are critical, most children are mainly influenced by what happens in their homes, each and every day. The next page looks at various aspects of home life.
