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Tajikistan: Children Voice their Opinions

The debate is a sign of Tajikistan’s changing times where traditionally children are expected to listen.

There is some scepticism, but mostly loud applause as fourteen-year-old Indira Razykova, dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, finishes her presentation in front of a classroom.

“We should involve popular Tajik artists to encourage children to stay in school,” says Indira with conviction. “They could give talks at our schools. Children will listen to them because they are their idols.”

Lots of hands go up. One boy says, “Why would they come to do that? We would have to pay them.”

Indira stands her ground firmly, “I’ve seen artists speak out in campaigns before. It can also increase their popularity,” she responds.

The debate is lively, with both boys and girls from different secondary schools in the capital, jostling to make their point. It is a sign of Tajikistan’s changing times where traditionally children are expected to listen. “Gradually through participation in debates such as these, ground work is being laid for children and youth to take up their fundamental right to participate in decisions that affect their lives,” says Nisso Kasymova, the UNICEF officer for Young People’s Health and Development. “The mere fact that such debating groups have emerged is a sign of participatory progress and a gradual empowerment of children. Although such clubs are mostly concentrated in the capital and limited to youth in school, they have the potential to become the starting-point for an independent national youth movement.”

Indira concedes afterwards that she was nervous, but had practiced beforehand with her mother. It was only her third week as a member of the “Tajik Youth Debating Educational Club”, which meets every Saturday in a secondary school in the heart of the capital, Dushanbe.

“I think the group were quite supportive of my idea,” says Indira. She was one of several pupils who made a proposal for the debate on “how to keep children in school”. It is a topical issue, as although school is compulsory and officially free, children, especially girls, are dropping out, mainly due to poverty. Many parents struggle to pay other extra costs, such as for transport and sometimes fees for teachers, who are poorly paid, and for rehabilitation of schools.

“My mother gave me ideas on how to improve my proposal.” Indira adds that her mother was particularly interested in this issue. “My mother is very supportive of my education. She always wanted to be lawyer, but it didn’t happen, because she didn’t have the chance to finish her education.”

The children are given the opportunity to air their views and are advised on how to resolve conflicts.

Rustam Anvarov, the facilitator of the debating clubs, says he believes that their ideas will be taken seriously. “The Youth Committee on Sport and Tourism and a National Committee on Children’s Rights will review our proposals and give us feedback.” The committees are government bodies that have been active, in cooperation with UNICEF and different NGOs, to put youth prominently on the national agenda. Rustam, a law student, is one of founding members of the debating clubs, which were set up five years ago across the country in 20 schools with UNICEF support.

“We also invite the media, particularly to cover our debates,” says Rustam. “We debate issues that affect us, like how to solve the problems of boys and girls dropping out of school, how to make the transport system work more effectively for us, on HIV/AIDS – what is the best way to protect us.”

Rustam adds that the rural areas are more of a challenge, where the majority of people live and where youth are often left in positions of responsibility as more adults seek work as migrant labourers in Russia, making it even more relevant that they should have their views heard. Yet, they live in mountainous villages, far away from the nearest resource centre, making it impossible for them to attend debating clubs, particularly during the long harsh winter.

However, an NGO, “Young People and healthy development” in Khujand district aims to expand the debating groups to cover 28 schools, and set up information resources centres for young people in each rayon, a group of villages, according to Naimjon Mirzorahimov, who is the coordinator of the NGO. The NGO recently sent out a questionnaire to parents and their daughters asking whether they preferred religious schools or mainstream schools. “The girls wanted to go to ordinary school, whereas most of the parents preferred to send their daughters to religious schools. We used this as a basis for debate. The children are given the opportunity to air their views and are advised on how to resolve conflicts in these centres.” UNICEF has supported the provision of computers, and educative materials for the resource centres.

Another challenge, points out 17 -year-old Abdumalik Barotov, is that parents sometimes do not understand what debating clubs are about. His parents were at first “unsure why it was necessary. Now they let me participate in the debates as long as they do not interfere with my studies.”

He has been a dedicated member of the “Tajik Youth Debating Educational Club” for three years. “The debating club helps me to think analytically, improve my communication and presentation skills, and to mix with youth from different backgrounds.”

Article written by Ruth Ansah Ayisi

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