Do you believe that regardless of culture & religion, child neglect, child abuse could be made illegal universally?
Too many little girls, babies themselves, are being forced to have babies…..
Child marriage was rampant in India at one time, but thankfully is illegal now…
AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) — A 12-year-old Yemeni girl, who was forced into marriage, died during a painful childbirth that also killed her baby, a children’s rights group said Monday. Fawziya Ammodi struggled for three days in labor, before dying of severe bleeding at a hospital on Friday, said the Seyaj Organization for the Protection of Children.
Born into an impoverished family in Hodeidah, Fawziya was forced to drop out of school and married off to a 24-year-old man last year, al-Qureshi said.
The issue of Yemeni child brides came to the forefront in 2008 with 10-year-old Nujood Ali. She was pulled out of school and married to a man who beat and raped her within weeks of the ceremony.To escape, Nujood hailed a taxi — the first time in her life — to get across town to the central courthouse where she sat on a bench and demanded to see a judge.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/14 /yemen.childbirth.death/index.html
Yes, as a foster carer, I truly believe that all children have a right to be children.
However, we have to remember that ‘childhood’ as we know it, is a relatively new invention. It wasn’t so long ago that children should be seen and not heard.
This article makes very interesting reading: http://www.childrenwebmag.com/articles/c hild-care-articles/what-is-childhood-and -who-created-it
And there are obvious cultural differences which will make a univeral law almost impossible to police.
But my short answer is ‘yes’ there should be a universal law.
Away With The Fairies | Sep 15, 2009
There already are:-
Human Right Act, Rights of the Child,UN Convention etc etc
but whether individual countries adhere to them
is another story,as it all comes down to an individuals country and it’s own laws and customs
Jan409 | Sep 15, 2009
Absolutely - it’s something on which we cannot afford to be relativists - children must be allowed to be children and should be protected.
Skidoo | Sep 15, 2009
It’s been going on a long time. God chose Mary at age 12 to give birth to Jesus. Mary didn’t volunteer.
Lincoln6 | Sep 15, 2009
The rampant abuse and basic human rights violations in so many countries regarding "child brides" is horrific and the World Courts must set in ASAP.
These countries claim to be modern and want to engage in the global economy/ market and then they allow such atrocities to occur to children!!
They point fingers at the western civilization of our lack of whatever,etc. etc….. we have our bad points….
BUT messing with children is a crime all over the world…the children need protection! little girls are still little girls!!
they are not brides and they are not something to be bought and sold like a goat..
the parents and the groom should be charged as criminals! Such would happen in any other country! Selling your child(11 or 12 year old girl) to a pedophile for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a felony in most countries!!!
And this poor child died a most horrible and unnecessary death which should also place the charge of murder on those involved…
coffee_pot12 | Sep 15, 2009
It’s all well and good to put certain laws in place. The trouble begins when the authorities are too overstretched or unable to follow up reports and complaints. Too many kiddies are being failed by our system and eejits who insist on beating and abusing these kiddies, just slip through the net.. Sometimes, it would seem that the vigilante approach would do better than our current system, but the vigilantes would end up being the "bad guys".. It’s one of those silly laws that seems to protect the abusers and deter honest folk from reporting abuse or mistreatment… Time for a big change in the UK system…
Angela M | Sep 15, 2009
There are laws in place but all the laws in the world won’t change the fact that there is a distinct lack of nurture in society. I think it is terrible that young girls become mums to either secure their home or because they have no ambition and also that it is done with the absence of family…it would be nice to see folk and youngsters ‘courting’ again without the desire to have babies, and more traditional skills learnt such as cooking. Years ago, all women had a trade, even if they were home mums…these skills lack today I think.
Gobilina | Sep 15, 2009
The idea seems completely reasonable but not very practical. The problem is that different societies have different ideas of what is acceptable. These ideas also change over time in the same society.
You use the example of young girls being "forced" into marriages. Many countries have had arranged marriages and it was custom in the US to ask permission of the bride’s father before proposing.
The age issue is another example. Today people in the US and most western countries would say that marrying young girls is wrong but some countries still find it acceptable. It was not too many years ago that a girl in the US that wasn’t marriedby the age of 20 was considered an "old maid" and their chances of marrying were greatly reduced. Today, statistics are kept on teen pregnancy and many people think having a child before 20 is a bad thing.
Child labor laws are another example. Children used to work in factories, on farms, and in stores. Now, it is illegal to hire kids for almost any job.
Here is an example of the changes in child laws over the years in the US:
In the early 1900s my grandmother babysat four or five of her cousins when she was 8 years old who were all under the age of five. She stayed with them all day, cooked their food on a wood burning stove, washed and mended their clothes, and did everything they needed at a time before electricity and indoor plumbing. This was common.
I started working on farms for pay at about 8 years old. I started babysitting at 10 years old and babysat 5 kids for a most of a week including overnight at 14.
Today, parents can be arrested for leaving a child 10 or 12 home alone and even at time 14 with younger siblings.
How could common laws be made?
tincoatr | Sep 15, 2009
Parents are responsible for what happens to the babies they make. No laws need be made if parents do their job. If they don’t, well, we are hardly an endangered species. Think of how many penguins are born compared to how many live a long penguin life.
Gwillam | Sep 15, 2009
what a heartbreaking story,
child abuse is child abuse whatever religion or culture
shocking
jezabel
He likes old cars, he drives a minitruck, he likes rock music, he only wears dickies n flat billed dc hats (but he’s got a million of those things so I dont really wanna get him more, plus I just got him shoes for his bday) hes a machanic… So what do ya think??
Bella | Nov 20, 2009