These girls meet regularly at school and after church on Sunday to discuss child rights and what to do. They are GANG, Girls of an Active New Generation.
They are WCP Child Rights Ambassadors in the violent South African suburb Bonteheuwel. Here, many gangs are involved in drug trafficking and shootings. Thousands of people have been killed, many of them innocent children, who were struck by stray bullets.
Girls can report to us if they think their rights have been violated and we will act by going with them to the Human Rights Commission in our area. Sometimes it does not help to tell the police, even though the law says they must investigate any case of child abuse that is reported to them. If they do not want to do this, they are breaking the law. We are lucky to have a principal who is kind to us and encourages our work as ambassadors in our school.”
- ARTICLE 19. You have the right to protection from all forms of
violence, neglect, abuse and mistreatment. You should not be exploited by your parents or other guardians.
- ARTICLE 28. You have the right to learn and develop in school, and should not be violently punished by a teacher or other adult.
- ARTICLE 37. No one should punish you in a cruel and harmful way.
There is a young girl who lives in my street by the name of Keila. She is twelve years old and her mother’s oldest child. Keila has a special place in my heart because I see the emotional abuse she must go through because of alcohol. Her mom spends most of her pay cheque on buying alcohol. Keila must buy food and bread on credit at the corner shop, because she does not have money to buy what she needs. My mother has now taken Keila in as her ‘soup kitchen child’, meaning that every day Keila comes to our house to fetch her breakfast and lunch.
These are the things I see and experience in my ghetto community. Being a Child Rights Ambassador and a member of the GANG has made me stronger because I can talk to my peers about their rights and help them in the small ways that I can. When we read The Globe, we also see that other girls are suffering even worse than we are. We read what girls do about it and that makes us stronger.”
Ashlyn, 17 years
I have a friend whose father died. Year ago. Her mom remarried and she was not happy with the new stepfather. When her mom got married to that man, some time passed, and then that man started hitting her mom.”
After a day, she came back to the house, but that man had hit her mother and stabbed her to death. My friend knew that her mother had protected her so that she could live. The man is now in jail and my friend lives with her auntie. She has come to join us at GANG so that she can also be a part of us girls who support girls.”
Tasneem, 15 years
Now, when people hear the word GANG, they should think of the Girls of an Active New Generation. Our GANG won’t hurt or harm you in any way, but will protect you and make you feel safe. You can speak about the struggles you have to us, or a struggle that someone else you know is facing and is too scared to talk about or has no one to trust. Our GANG helps to make you aware of your rights and what you can do to protect yourself. Taylor, 16 years
Our teacher allows us to put up posters about GANG in the library, so all the students can read about us.
For example, I know now that teachers are not allowed to hit us, because it is against the law that protects children. So, when our Sir hit my classmate for coming late, I stood up and told him it was illegal. Then Sir tried to hit me, but I ran out of the door. My friend followed me, and we went to a teacher for help. She came back to our classroom and explained to our Sir that it was illegal to hit a child. Sir was blood red in his face.
Children have rights and that means that if you are late, your Sir must take a moment to ask you why and listen to your answer. Adults must allow children to speak and listen to them. That is what adults have to learn, to listen and talk to us, instead of hitting and shouting.”Bianca, 17 years
Corporal punishment has been banned in South African schools since 2007, but is still widely practised by many teachers. An inquiry revealed that at least one million children experienced corporal punishment at schools during 2019.
When a teacher hurts a child, it should be reported to the principal, but if he does not cooperate, it should be reported at a police station and the Department of Education’s nearest district office. They are required by law to launch a full investigation into the case.
Some parents believe that they are disciplining their children by hitting them. Perhaps their own parents beat them when they were children, because they never learnt how to teach discipline to their children without violence. Corporal punishment teaches children to solve problems with violence and can lead to becoming bullies themselves.
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