Armanshahr Foundation in collaboration with the French Institute of Afghanistan in Kabul is pleased to invite you to its 76th (year V) public debate GOFTEGU on the occasion of the International days of Children and of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, and the public presentation of four new Armanshahr Publications :
Building the present and future of Children
Speakers: Ms. Fatana Ishaq Gailani (Founder and chairwoman of Afghanistan Women Council), M. Mohammad Sarwar Hosseini (Deputy-head of Literacy and Informal Training at the Ministry of Education), M. Mohammad Aslam Jawadi (Director of Sociology Department of Kateb University), Ms. Safa Mazari (Director of orphanages, Ministry of Labour and Social affairs)
Followed by the projection of a feature film
(Programme in Dari)
Date & Time: Thursday June 2nd, 2011 at 14:00 H.
Venue: French Institute of Afghanistan (Istiqlal High School, close to Kabul Townhall)
Tel: 0779217755 & 0775321697
E-mail: armanshahrfoundation.openasia@gmail.com
Lost notice: Destiny of children is missing
The 76th Goftegu public debate – a bridge between the elite and the citizens – of Armanshahr Foundation with the title of “Building the present and future of Children” was held on 2 June 2011 to mark the International Days of Children and of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, in cooperation with the French Institute Afghanistan at the Institute’s premises.
The speakers were: Ms. Fatana Ishaq Gailani (Founder and chairwoman of Afghanistan Women Council), Mr. Mohammad Sarwar Hosseini (Deputy-head of Literacy and Informal Training at the Ministry of Education), Mr. Mohammad Aslam Jawadi (Director of Sociology Department of Kateb University), Ms. Safa Mazari (Director of orphanages, Ministry of Labour and Social affairs), and Mr. Shirkhan Ahmadzai (Cultural Director of Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children). More than 250 members of the civil society of Afghanistan, university students, politicians, women’s rights and children’s rights participated at the meeting.
Mr. Ajmal Baluchzada, the moderator, opened the meeting with the following words:
First of June has been designated as the ‘International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.’ This is to remind the fact that every year massive amounts are spent for all types of nuclear and mass destruction weapons. On the other hand, children die as a result of hunger, absence of health and hygiene testing these and malnutrition and nobody cares. Children hope to live in an environment free of war and hatred.
As in other Third World countries, little attention has been paid to children in Afghanistan. Ten years have passed since the installation of the post-Taliban government, but the children not have clear future yet. We are still waiting for a clear and comprehensive policy concerning children and young people. Children, young people and women have been forgotten in this country. They do not enjoy the gift of literacy; they are raped; some of them have taken to begging and addiction. They are used in many terrorist attacks. Hundreds of children die as a result of various diseases. Some others are killed or become invalids as a result of the current war and irresponsible air raids. We know well that we are the most disaffectionate nation to its children. We ignore their capabilities, beauty and sincerity. They must know that children live in a different world. It is our task to bring that world back to them. We hope we can assess together today any beneficial policies for children and to see what changes have been brought to benefit our children, if any, by the people who have spent millions of dollars in their name.
Ms. Fatana Ishaq Gailani said: I must point out a few points about Afghanistan’s past, because our children were born and brought up under war conditions. In the old days, when there was no war and terror in Afghanistan, our children were brought up in a fully humane environment.
Even though we did not have many schools in Afghanistan 60 years ago, and the health system had not advanced, he had a land of peace. It was important for children to have pride and to be Afghan. They grew up free from ethnic prejudices. However, Afghanistan was pushed into misery and darkness after 27th of April. The children, whose fathers were killed by the Communists, were taken to orphanages. Many children suffered from lack of adequate food. They were always in queues for bread. Some others migrated and lived under terrible conditions in Pakistan. I’m opposed to orphanages, because they cannot raise children properly. We do not want our children to grow up in war again. We need more attention to and proper policy-making for children.
Mr. Mohammad Sarwar Hosseini said: Education is a basic human right that has been enshrined in international covenants. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Convention of the Rights of Child (CRC) put forward a body of rights including: survival of the child, growth and development of the child, elimination of discrimination against and protection of the child. Children need protection of the parents, because they cannot protect themselves in many cases. There are two very important advantages in the CRC: It considers children to be human beings and provides comprehensive rights for children.
In the Education for All document, there are six major goals, one of which is the preschool education of children. Indeed, reasoning takes shape in children at the ages 3 to 5. There are preschool education systems in many countries, which unfortunately we lack in Afghanistan.
We have made some progress in basic education, from the first to the ninth classes. In 2002, Ministry of Education had 8000 students. In 2011, that number increased to 8,000,000 students countrywide. The number of teachers has also increased and the number of schools rose from 3400 to 12,000. Nevertheless, there are still 4.5 million children who do not have access to schools.
Mr. Aslam Jawadi said: There is a very important topic of discussion about the status of children and migration in the past. A migrant child does not have a history and it is very important to think about this. Another question is: What is the status of child in the mind of Afghans?
Some of the problems occur for children in the society, but they suffer others at home in the family. We need to know the status of the child in the family in order to know their status in the minds of Afghans. The hierarchy in the family structure in Afghanistan is decided on the basis of kinship. Therefore, the important thing within the family is a body of features that have nothing to do with human values.
The first feature in Afghan families is the precedence of age. Opportunities and advantages are available to people who are within a specific age group. The Afghans take a different attitude to men and women. The third feature is an instrumental view of children.
Ms. Safa Mazari said: Children suffered a lot during the war. The whole infrastructure available to children was destroyed. Family institutions disintegrated during the war. There is no child in Afghanistan who has not suffered economically and socially during the two decades of war. Children constitute half the population of Afghanistan and they are the most vulnerable social group. We have child labourers, child offenders, kidnapped children, smuggled children, child soldiers and girls who have been forced to marry.
Mr. Shirkhan Ahmadzai: Children are very talented and they have proved it whenever they had the chance. We must respect children in the society.
To view the publications related to this Goftegu Public Debate, please refer to the following links.
http://openasia.org/item/2096
http://openasia.org/item/2124
Invitation to 76th Goftegu public debate: Building the present and future of Children
