Prof. Rayhan Ahmed Tapader :
Children’s Day is celebrated several times a year under different names at the international level to establish children’s rights and create awareness.
In addition to this, different countries around the world celebrate National Children’s Day in their own way.
Internationally, World Children’s Day and Children’s Rights Week are celebrated on the first Monday of October. According to the announcement of the United Nations, November 20 is observed as World Children’s Day.
International Children’s Day is celebrated on June 1. Besides, International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated all over the world on October 11.
There are several other such days for children. Apart from this, the countries of the world celebrate their important day as National Children’s Day. For example, Children’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of June in the United States.
Again, Children’s Day is celebrated in Pakistan on July 1, an in China on April 4. On the other hand, Children’s Day is celebrated on August 30 in Britain, May 5 in Japan, and September 20 in Germany.
However, the purpose of celebrating Children’s Day in all countries is the same, to once again send a message of awareness about the rights of the children of the country and their future.
Love for children is evident in human civilization. Despite this, children are being deprived of their rights.
Due to reason, lack of reason, want or lack of awareness, our children are not getting their rights around every person, at home and outside, in education, movement and sports. Children are surrounded by discrimination.
To make a child a worthy citizen, the family and social rights of the child must be ensured first. In order to protect the rights of children worldwide, ‘Child Rights’ was declared by an international conference in Geneva in 1924.
Following this, in 1959, the United Nations declared the Charter of the Rights of the Child. Bangladesh signed this charter.
The current law recognizes children up to the age of 18. The Child Rights Charter has 54 articles and 137 sub-articles.
These sub-sections state that there shall be no discrimination against children. The best interests of the child shall be the primary consideration in social welfare work and legislation.
States shall care for children and the government shall provide services and facilities for children.
Children’s basic rights such as educational, social, cultural rights will be ensured.
Children are the future of the nation. Most of the children are children of poor families in the village.
In order to overcome the family’s poverty, working children have to work as laborers with great health risks.
According to doctors, if children work in dusty environments like hosiery factories for a long time, they may develop respiratory problems and bronchitis.
Bangabandhu’s birthday is also National Children’s Day for a related reason. Bangabandhu loved children and teenagers. Bangabandhu enjoyed freedom as a child or teenager, spent his days in bondage.
In the same way, he thought that the children and teenagers of Bangladesh would get the opportunity and environment to grow up with free thinking.
Every child is very dear to his parents. There is no distinction between caste and caste, rich and poor. Bangabandhu used to say, ‘Be a child, be like a child.
Learn to laugh like a baby. will get the love of the world.’ In fact, Bangabandhu was a simple person like a child, his smile was also like a child; so the love of the whole world is for him.
On the other hand, he was Mujib Bhai to everyone, children and teenagers, young and old. He liked this address.
This would have bridged the age gap; he became everyone’s own, like a soul mate. For these qualities he became Bangabandhu; and from Bangabandhu to the father of the nation-the architect of the Bangladesh state.
Bangabandhu took specific steps for child development. That is; Directorate of Mother and Child Welfare was established by involving mothers for child welfare. Shishu Academy was established to ensure overall development of the child.
The decision was bold and groundbreaking in the context of the overall situation of Bangladesh at that time. The Children Act was promulgated on 22 June 1974. This law protects children’s rights.
The child who was born on March 17, 1920 was as simple as a child all his life. Bangabandhu’s birthday on March 17 is celebrated as National Children’s Day.
Bangabandhu loved children very much, loved to talk and play with them. He believed that today’s children are the builders of tomorrow’s country. Today’s young generation will get inspiration to build the nation from the ideals of this great leader.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will live among those who believe in Bangladesh and hold the spirit of the liberation war. Today’s children are our future. Therefore, children should be allowed to grow up in order to have proper education and mental development.
Many children are deprived of that basic right because of poverty. Forced to drop out of education and engage in prohibited child labour.
At the age when they are supposed to study, they are engaged in inhuman labor in various factories, hotels, workshops, shops etc. due to poverty.
Bangladesh is a developing country in South Asia. 17 million people live here, 40 percent of them is a huge population ie more than 6 crore children.
So children should be given back their basic rights and their future should be ensured. Bangabandhu’s work and political life is of extraordinary glory. May the foundation of character strength be formed in every child from his glorious history is the main theme of National Children’s Day.
(Writer: Researcher and columnist
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