CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
|
Zambia |
CHILDREN
Cases of child abuse are becoming more frequent in Zambia
The mushrooming of Islamic schools for young boys aged between 6 and 12 in and around Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, on the pretext of developing their intellectual skills, has sent ripples of consternation in both government circles and among parents. Impoverished parents and guardians, pushed to the very brink of despair by their grinding poverty, have no choice but to send their children to these so-called academies. Such schools, some of them founded in the name of Islam, attract hundreds of young boys, many of them from Zambia’s rural areas and the poverty-stricken sprawling urban townships.
Zambia’s Youth Development Minister, Gladys Nyirongo, recently ordered the closure of two unregistered Islamic schools in Lusaka. Many boys from Luapula in Zambia’s Northern and Northwestern provinces had been recruited for these schools, but were found to be living under appalling conditions. Youngsters told horrific stories of the inhuman treatment meted out to them in these establishments, despite promises they would receive a good religious education with both Arabic and English featuring prominently. An Asian proprietor and his accomplices are currently appearing in the magistrates courts, accused of keeping children in conditions not fit for human habitation.
Another institution managed by a Non-Governmental Organisation also came under Minister Nyirongo’s scrutiny. She was appalled that the children were kept in filthy conditions incompatible with human dignity. Some of the boys told the Minister’s inspectors that they had been abused by the school’s proprietors.
Let’s take a look at one such establishment. An Islamic school called Faiz-E-Abrar, was recently discovered in Lusaka’s Chaisa township, in which 280 boys between the ages of 4 and 10 were being kept in unlawful conditions. It appears the boys were being trained for future terrorist activities and were housed in what can only be described as cells. Clad in robes and Islamic caps, the children said they wanted to leave the centre where they were sometimes fed on rotting food. They also said they were not allowed to speak any local languages whilst at school, and any breach of the rules resulted in corporal punishment from their instructors. The police arrested the two proprietors. Lusaka Police Chief Chendela Musonda said the manner the children were being kept was worrying and investigations had been launched to establish the truth behind the school.
Other cases of child abuse involving children of very young ages have been reported to the authorities, including one involving a coach at a soccer academy.
Public revulsion
The above revelations have infuriated Lusaka’s citizens and they are urging the government to impose stiff sentences on child abusers.
It is against this background that UNICEF‘s representative in Zambia, Dr Stella Goings, says the government should prepare a report on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children, as a yardstick to attract more financial aid from donors. Although Dr Goings acknowledged Zambia’s commitment to children’s welfare, she said society should participate more in the protection of children’s rights. Zambia should publicise both its difficulties and achievements in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Children.
- Fred Chella, Zambia, August 2003 — © Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment