What have we done to our youth?
By: ADNAN ULLAH (AD)
It is said that
charity begins at home. This is especially true because the family is the most
basic unit of society. Today however, because of many challenges with parenting
such as absentee parents, single parenthood, neglectful parents among many
other challenges, many parents have dropped the ball and abandoned their
responsibility of raising their children with the right values. This has
resulted in a youth population that is not guided with the right value system.
This has in turn exposed young people to higher risks of dropping out of
school, risky sexual behaviors, drug, alcohol and substance abuse among many
other risks
Despair,
depression , Suicidal thoughts, a childhood of abuse, night terrors, stray
dogs, gender labels were transferred into beautiful artworks, but reflected a
deep anxiety. Art is a natural vehicle for personal expressions. How many of
those hundred million or so young Pakistanis have similar anxieties that are
never heard? Have we disempowered our youth?youth all over the world is
struggling to be heard. For instance Malala Yousafzai for education, Greta
Thunberg and the school strike for the Climate and March for our lives for gun
control.
At the ages of
17 and 20 Muhammad bin Qasim and Alexander
the Great, were leading huge armies
of man old enough to be their fathers,
who placed their trust in their young
generals .Today, the only profession where young people are given leadership roles is in the world of
computers.while, child prodigies those one in five million gifted young peoples
in art music and mathematics are dotted through history .There was a time when
all the Children were considered young
adults. They were taught skills needed
in adults life from an early age
how to wield a sword, ride horses,hunt, makes fires, work the fields ,learn
statesmanship or simple household chores. Many communities continue to include
their children in the adult world. Children tag along with adults learn by
example, many are apprentice to experts. This is seen not just a necessity, but
a system to empower children for their smoothly transition to adulthood.
Ancient wisdom states, “If you do not cleanup your floor how would you clean up
the world”? The change in social role of
children came with the start of industrialization in England in 1760, a gradually
spreading to the rest of the modernizing world. Families left
village to the labour in factories, living in crowded cities, or mining communities much as they do in Pakistan
today. Children became part of this labour force .Losing the benefits of losing
growing up in traditional communities. To bring an end to exploitation of
children, factory facts and children
protection bills were created. Philosophers locke and Rousseau the Romantic
poet presented childhood as a time of innocence to be protected and preserved
.Children literature was developed with stories and nursery rhymes of gentle
humour and fantasy. Modern schools were
established with uniform curricula. Children’s toys doll house and organized sports became essential. This definition of
childhood continues today. While no one would argue with the noble intentions
of these changes, it established childhood as a separate entity from the
adult world. A distinct age was established to declare a child’s
transformation into adulthood varying between 14 and 18 years. Philippe Aries
in his book centuries of Childhood, suggests that childhood as we conceive of
it today was not a natural phenomenon but a creation of society.
One consequences
has been that young people today are suddenly thrown unprepared into the
responsibilities of adulthood. Unfortunately in the contemporary world poverty
and war are the two factors that force children to deal with adults responsibilities or be exposed to experiences we usually protect our children from Adults constantly remind young people
that the future belongs to
them a future everyone agrees is
uncertain. They must also ensure young people feel empowered and supported to
envision and shape that future.
ADNAN ULLAH (AD)
Done Bachelors
(BS) in Environmental science from
International Islamic University Islamabad.
Email;
adnanullah863@gmail.com
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