In Islam, children have very clearly defined rights. Parents and guardians are obliged to respect these rights and care for the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of children.
In a country that is struggling with violence, insecurity, and deprivation, children are the most vulnerable members of society. The rights of children in Iraq to education, healthcare and time to play are not being fulfilled and few interventions exist to protect children.
We worked with more than 23,000 children and their teachers in 60 schools in the capital, Baghdad and Erbil, in the northern Kurdistan region.
Features of the project included boosting the ability of teachers and schools to cater for children with special needs, workshops and activities to educate children about their rights and events to engage parents.
“It has shown [children] that they have rights like other children. The activities, which the local authorities also participated in, have made them feel positively about their self esteem.”
Yousif Abdul-Jabbar, school director, Baghdad, Iraq