JULY 3 — It is hard being a child activist in Malaysia. Not that I am one; I just happen to talk to people who are.
It is hard because it is difficult to advocate for children in a country that does not have sufficient protections for children.
The stories I hear are chilling. Of minors put in jail, put in chains while wearing nothing but underclothes. Or migrant children being rounded up and detained to "lure" their parents out of hiding. Of children denied birth certificates because a parent has gone missing or is the "wrong" religion or race.
Children don't get much of a say either, especially when divorce happens. Rarely do children of divorce get to choose which parent they prefer to live with or even which religion they would stay in, should one parent convert to a different faith.
Maybe it is a cultural thing, this perception that children are "property" and subject to the whims and fancies of us adults who seemingly "know better."
We make a hue and cry over publicised cases of children going missing but silently many more of our children are suffering from various injustices.
So many of our children are deprived of what should be basic rights: education, shelter, identification documents and protection in situations where they could be vulnerable.
Children being married off to their rapists.
Adopted children separated from their guardians because the latter did not go through the proper procedures.
Minors working on the street when they should be in school.
In some ways, our children are luckier than others. For instance, child prostitution is not as prevalent here as in some neighbouring countries.
But nothing changes the fact that our children deserve better than what they're getting right now.
It's time we remember that our children too have rights and that we should know better than to ignore those rights.
After all, they really are our future.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
