16th June 2022.
Press Statement
Today the 16th day of June 2022 marks International Day of the African Child (DAC). According to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the day is commemorated mainly “to recall the 1976 uprisings in Soweto when high-school students in South Africa started protesting against apartheid-inspired education resulted in the public killing of these unarmed young protesters by police officials”
Over the years the DAC has also been a day of reflections and stocktaking on progress and challenges in the drive to ensure timely and effective protection and promotion of the welfare of children in the African continent and perhaps beyond.
The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practice since 2013”.
In that vein, the Malick Jallow Foundation for Children(MJFC) joins the rest of Africa in commemorating this auspicious day and seizes the opportunity to commend the Government of the Gambia and Civil Society on fundamental legislative strides taken in eliminating harmful traditional practices.
We equally call on the Government of the Gambia and Civil Society to actively work on addressing legislative gaps in the legal framework for eliminating FGM-C and Child-Marriage in the Gambia on the one hand and strengthening the enforcement of the existing legal framework on the other.
