AFGHANISTAN / JUVENILE JUSTICE
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STORY: AFGHANISTAN / JUVENILE JUSTICE
TRT: 2.12
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: DARI/ ENGLISH/ NATS
DATELINE: 5-8 APRIL 2010, MAZAR-E-SHERIF, AFGHANISTAN
1. Close up, caretaker unlocking the door
2. Various shots, girl prisoner walking out of the locked compound
3. Med shot, girls learning embroidery
4. Med shot, girl teaching a class
5. Various shots, Neelab praying
6. SOUNDBITE (Dari) Neelab Saifi
”My request is that if you can take the message through TV to all parents that they should not exchange their daughters for money and they should not worry about the honor of the family, as soon as their child is in her teenage, they should not marry her off without thinking whether she will be happy or not so I think that boys and girls should complete their education and get to know things in life before they get married. “
7. Various shots, girls coming out of a school and playing in the school playground
8. Various shots, security guard outside a school
9. Various shots, children in a class room
10. Various shots, construction in a school.
11. Various shots, notepads and stationery being distributed to children in a classroom
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Farid Dastgeer, UNICEF Child Protection Officer:
“Peace is the key to any success in any area and especially in child protection, so if there is war there is limitation of access to the rural areas so there is little chance we get to know the real problem of children from those areas affected by war. We need peace so that the community comes forward with their problems and then UNICEF along with partners addresses those problems.”
13. Various shots, women and children at a fair
Locked in limbo, young girls held in a juvenile rehabilitation centre in Mazar-e-Sherif northern Afghanistan, await their turn for justice. Doing time for moral crimes such as adultery or running away from home, some will spend months and years here.
Once freed, in this conservative society, shame for bringing dishonor on their families can be a permanent punishment.
Four years ago there were only eight cases here, now there are forty young women at the shelter, a good sign some say, of growing awareness of girls’ rights. Their girlhood interrupted, this is a safe haven where they’re cared for, can learn valuable skills and can care for their own. Neelab is 18 and her horror story is typical. A violent husband her poverty-stricken parents made her marry at 14 and beat her so badly she miscarried her second child. Now she wants her voice to be heard.
SOUNDBITE (Dari) Neelab, 18-year-old Juvenile Center Intern:
”My request is - if you can take the message through TV to all parents – that they should not exchange their daughters for money and they should not worry about the honor of the family. They should not marry off their child as soon as she becomes a teenager, without thinking whether she will be happy or not. I think that boys and girls should complete their education and get to know things in life before they get married.”
Tucked away from the conflict, there are rays of hope like this all over Afghanistan. Forty percent more girls are now in school and that’s creating greater awareness about children’s rights and arming girls with choices for life.
Security threats loom large but despite ongoing attacks on schools, on girls and on women teachers, real change is happening. In this large class only a couple of girls’ mothers had even basic schooling. This school has such a demand that they have had to build new classrooms.
UNICEF helps with legal aid for girls struggling to get their rights, suffering from abuse or forced marriage. A big investment has been in educating girls, distributing learning materials and training women teachers.
SOUNDBITE (English) Farid Dastgeer UNICEF Child Protection Officer:
“Peace is the key to any success in any area and especially in child protection, so if there is war there is limitation of access to the rural areas so there is little chance we get to know the real problem of children from those areas affected by war. We need peace so that the community comes forward with their problems and then UNICEF along with partners addresses those problems”.
Achieving peace won’t be a walk in the park but here, there is real momentum towards progress for children.