Readers’ Voice

Clone Sir Frank Peters!
To clone Sir Frank Peters should be mandatory! I am extremely disappointed that he has not been cloned to date or at least have his commonsense, love for humanity and his anti corporal punishment aspirations for the children of the nation replicated. Bangladesh, in particular, would prosper and would be a much better place if there were more of him or more like him.
In a BBC interview he described himself as “half Bengali”, but I, for one, cannot think of a single Bangladeshi who comes even close to his love and patriotism for this nation and (to the best of my knowledge) he’s not even a Bangladesh national!
When he writes he writes with so much compassion and conviction and he’s not scared to call a ‘spade a spade’ in a ‘grab them by the shoulders and shake sense into them’ approach.
Famous American author and child psychiatrist Dr. Nadine A. Block of Ohio, USA, wrote a glowing report about Sir Frank’s tenacity to hold a tight grip on his beliefs that corporal punishment is wrong and achieves only evil results. (NEW NATION 2022/09/30)
She mentions that the USA is aware that he has long campaigned forcefully for schoolteachers to respect the Bangladesh High Court ban of 2011 on corporal punishment and for parents to demand that their children be spared from it.
Why? Because corporal punishment doesn’t make any sense and helps create a vicious, cruel and violent society that nobody wants. He questions why if an adult hits another adult it is deemed assault and the assailant can be jailed for his crime, but if an adult hits a child, it isn’t a crime. Where’s the justice in that?
Why are all the alleged child protection agencies like Her Royal Highness Princess Anne’s Save the Children, UNICEF and World Vision silent? Is protecting children a political hot potato and Sir Frank Peters the only voice that is prepared to speak out in their defense?
The fact the High Court of Bangladesh in 2011 declared that corporal punishment should be banned in all settings and 10-years later it still has not been passed into law makes one question the priorities of the government.
Dr. Block (in what could be deemed a tribute to Sir Frank) said: “I enthusiastically agree with Sir Frank that corporal punishment should be ended immediately. Violence begets violence. Children who are hit are more likely to be aggressive, to hit their siblings and to use violence against others including their spouses and their own children as adults. Corporal punishment is propelled by ignorance.”
It is to the misfortune of Bangladesh that there is only one Sir Frank Peters to continually speaks out against injustice to children. Perhaps he will be cloned before it is too late.

Dr. Riyadh Rahman
Chattogram