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| Photo | Courtesy |
Today
we mark the International Day of the African child. A day marked to honour ten thousand black school children who took part in the Soweto Uprising in 1976 to
protest poor quality education and demanded to be taught in their own language.
Hundreds were shot and hundreds killed in the protest. This day has been
celebrated every year since 1991. (Wikipedia)
The
theme of this year's celebration theme is Access to Child-Friendly Justice
System. This theme has made me think of access to justice which starts at home;
with family being the first point where children learn about justice and access
justice.
Justice
is a concept that children have little or no understanding of. In
African culture, parents and the elderly in the community had the final say in
matters of justice.
When
I talk of justice, I am going with these two definitions provided by the Cambridge
dictionary:
1.
Fairness in the way people are dealt with
2.
The system of law in a country that punishes and judges people
When
it comes to fairness, I believe children in Africa have been exposed to unfair
treatment for decades from within and without. To begin with, issues such as denial
of the right to basic education, a decent home, basic needs, and right to the association are simply a continued injustice. On a bigger scale are issues such
as Female Genital Mutilation, Child Trafficking, Early Marriage, Child
Prostitution, Beading, and Child Marriage. These are some of the issues that
the African system has greatly encouraged.
Children
grew up knowing some things are okay even when they affected them negatively. A
more relatable example is homes where the children were considered voiceless
or rather accessories and only the elders could hold an opinion.
Also Read: The Kids are Watching
Interaction
with justice comes in four folds as; victims, witnesses, offenders, and
complainants. Children in African communities have not had an active role in
these. Most of the time the script has been prepared for them even in the home
situation. In cases of indiscipline, the elders just went directly into
punishment rather than listening to the children's points of view.
When
it comes to the legal system, my thoughts are the whole system is not friendly
for children. Starting from how investigations are done, how children are
handled, and how they take part in the process to seek justice. The process needs
to be more friendly, and the legal jargon needs to be simplified. Additionally,
experts in children's psychology and care need to be greatly involved for the
process to be friendly.
Justice
starts at the home. Let’s train our children on the meaning of justice,
provide a conducive environment to access justice as well as support them in
accessing justice.
Happy
International Day of African Child!
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