Nepal has been celebrating National Children’s Day on Bhadra 29 every year on the occasion of the day Nepal ratified the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child on September 14, 1990, and expressed its international commitment to child development, protection of child rights, and child participation.

The cliché is that children are the future of a nation, and there is no debate on that. But, the status of children in Nepal is surely up for debate. Despite much progress in recent decades, millions of children are still living without their basic rights. Now more than ever, children’s lives are being impacted by violence, conflict and the repercussions of climate change. Nepal’s progress in terms of child protection is mixed. On a positive note, there are less child brides, reporting to police on cases of violence against women and girls increased substantially, cases of trafficking are increasingly being intercepted, laws and policies are more protective of children, specialized units in the justice sector are in place and data on children is increasingly available. Unfortunately, challenges persist.

Children not only in our country but in many countries throughout the world have been invariably facing the same problem such as ‘child labor’ or ‘child trafficking’. Especially in under-developed or developing countries like ours, children don’t get their rights and are still forced to live under such huge pressure with ignorance.

I believe that every child deserves a childhood free from violence to grow and live life in all its fullness, surrounded by protective, caring families and communities. Hence, awareness regarding child rights must be spread and that is how all children will be able to have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Shreya Rai

Grade – 10

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