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There is no exact statistics on how many children live on the sidewalks of Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh. A Unicef report published in March 2024 said more than 3.4 million children find themselves in 'street situations' in Bangladesh without parental care. Some reports say the number is higher. According to other sources, the number might be around 450,000. Whatever the number, each of these children is a glaring example of how unjust and cruel a society we have built that is insensitive to its children most in need of food, shelter and care. Is the government aware? It is indeed inspiring to learn in this context that the honourable High Court (HC) in a rule on Sunday (May 17) asked the government to explain why its 'failure' to take urgent and effective measures to protect and ensure fundamental rights of street children across the country should not be declared illegal and without lawful authority. Notably, the HC rule came following a writ petition filed as a public interest litigation by a rights body. If the government takes prompt action to improve the situation of street children of the country, then that would be an welcome development. To be frank, unless the move is made from the highest level of political leadership, the bureaucracy can always delay action. Meanwhile, so many well-meaning HC rulings have been lost in the maze of paperwork and red-tape. It is hoped that under the current political dispensation, the HC rule to protect street children would see urgent action.
As they are children and have none to look after, the street children suffer the worst forms of abuse at the hands of adult members of society. Women have a institutional framework to push through their agenda in the government's decision-making process as well as in social forums. Child right is an issue of huge importance that concerns the rights groups, the government and the international bodies. In such discussions on child right, the faces of children that first come to mind are those, though poverty-stricken, that still have an address, a home to return at the end of the day and parents to look after. But the street children are abandoned by their parents and have no place to return to when night falls or take shelter when the weather condition turns severe. According to an estimate, nearly three quarters of the street children are exposed to extreme hunger, while about two-thirds of them are forced to work under hazardous conditions. The street children are also drawn to petty crimes including shoplifting, pickpocketing, etc., and are often used by the underworld operators during street-rioting. A study was done based on reports published in national and local newspapers on violence committed
against children. The study findings were revealed at an event titled, 'State of Child Rights 2025' by the end of December last year. It showed that 62.66 per cent of the1,867 negative news reports were related to children subjected to rape and murder. As one of the non-governmental right groups behind holding of the event worked with street children, it can be assumed that the report also reflects the state of street children. The study findings further showed that the reports on child abuse and violence accounted for 15.63 per cent while child trafficking and sexual exploitation made up 8.75 per cent of the reports. Since the study was based on newspaper reports on violence against children, what has been revealed is just the tip of the iceberg. A more in-depth study preferably conducted by or with the support of the government is necessary to have a clearer picture of what is happening to our children across the nation. What is deeply concerning is the fact that child murder and rape have reached an alarming level in the country. It appears society at large has grown intolerant to its children. The street children are just an indicator of what is happening in society at large. All talk about development is pointless, if our children remain unprotected. For who is this development for, if it is not for our children?