Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
It is really heartening to note that Nobel Peace Prize (2014) goes to Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi for their active participation in the ‘struggles against the suppression of children and for young people’s rights, including the right to education. ‘Malala happens to the first ever youngest lady aged 17 years achieving this grand laurel. Yousafzai came to draw worldwide attention after ‘she was shot in the head by the Taliban for her efforts to promote education for girls in Pakistan. Since then, after recovering from surgery Yousafzai has stood at the forefront in the global campaign for girls’ rights to education. Both and Satyarthi agreed to work together to proclaim that every child is able to go to school deciding to try to ‘build a stronger relationship between their countries, which are longtime rivals. ‘Kailash Satyarthi has devoted his life to a cause that is extremely relevant to entire humankind. I salute his determined efforts,” he said, adding that “Malala Yousafzai’s life is a journey of immense grit (and) courage.” As news paper reports “A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, via email called Yousafzai a “beloved servant” of “infidels” who was awarded the Nobel “for her services to them.” The Islamist group, which has intimate links to the Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda, unabashedly confirmed two years ago that it tried to kill the teenage girl student. Nobel committee said it “regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism”.
We expect the two Nobel laureates will rise to the occasion fighting against any obnoxious process. Undesirable sets of circumstances prevailing in a changeless society where dominant social actors try to impose restriction on the mobility of young lady willing to go to school and to join any civil movement orchestrating human rights. They will fight against segregation in the name of parda (curtain), forced child marriage, denial of remarriage of widow, polygamy, manifold persecution of women and other weak groups
Child labour is also an expression of exploitation aganinst the children. Child workers are under-privileged children. They are under 18 years of age without having any parental care being engaged in ill-paid manual labor for a sustenance or for supplementing their family income which is scanty. The major categories of child labour include among others: House Servant, Hawker, Shop Assistant, Porter (Cooli), Factory Labor, Small Trade, Day Labor, Workshop Assistant, Garbage Collector, Wood Collector, Ice-cream Seller, Tiffin Carrier Boy, Hotel Boy, Rickshaw Puller, News Paper Seller, Shoe Shine Boy etc.
Most of them come from broken and utterly poor families living in slums or on the streets having to beg to try to survive. Conflict, violence and permanent anxiety often prevail within such families. Street children are largely deprived of love, care, affection, protection and guidance, as well as of essential necessities, such as water, shelter, basic education and minimum health care. Such children have no access to even the most basic human rights, human respect and dignity. They suffer from physical and sexual abuses. As a result of violent encounters, many of them are terrified of adults, deeply traumatized and sometimes, psychologically disturbed. Many of them are grossly malnourished and suffer from a number of other physical and psychological ailments. They are often said to be aggressive, distrustful and destructive. Their level of concentration is low as a result of struggling to survive a hostile world. Their psychological makeup; attitude and behavior are largely shaped by the harshness of everyday life.
I think the two protagonists of human rights movement putting the children first will enlighten the bacward south Asian society where societal power points militate against their rights. Command emanating from power house in a traditional community tends to nourish violence against young daughter willing to ordinary masses. Armed terrorist used by the reactionaries perpetrated violation of human right in many cases. Many human right activists and journalists were subject to torture and harassment through ‘unsubstantiated criminal accusations’ against them. NGO activists also suffered harassment for encouraging the female children to go out of home for education. It is a plain truth that abuses against human right in a backward community occurred every now and then. The state under such governments became ‘soft’ to professional armed criminals serving its unholy purpose and hard to the opposition agitators and.
(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, Professor of Public Administration, Chittagong University)
