Joy, Growth, Dignity
WORLD Children’s Day is celebrated every year on 20th November with a unique theme. 20th November is not just a date on the calendar; rather, it is a gentle and powerful reminder that every child in this world carries a mind, body, soul and inherent rights, which deserve care, love, safety and respect. The World Children’s Day theme for the year 2025 is ‘My Day, My Rights’. The vision behind this theme is to see the life of children through their eyes and to explore how a day looks in the life of a child and whether their rights are truly alive in every hour of every day that shapes their childhood.
Let’s imagine a child waking up with peace of mind in a cozy room, greeted by a loving family, preparing for school, eating a healthy diet, receiving quality education, playing with friends and dreaming freely. Now imagine another child waking up frightened in an unpleasant or hostile environment, feeling alone, not fed a healthy diet, forced to work instead of receiving education or silenced when they wish to speak. These two boys belong to the same world, but they tell entirely different stories. The theme ‘My Day, My Rights’ reminds us that every child in this world deserves a day filled with safety, joy, growth, dignity and fulfillment of their inherent rights.
A child’s day is made up of precious moments that require the fulfillment of four basic rights of a child. The ‘right to survival’ lives when a child’s basic necessities of life are fulfilled, including access to adequate nutrition, clean water, healthcare and shelter. The ‘right to development’ blossoms when a child is developed physically, ambulatory, emotionally, cognitively, linguistically, socially and spiritually. The ‘right to protection’ nurtures in the security a child feels that the world is safe from abuse, neglect and exploitation. The ‘right to participation’ flourishes when a child is encouraged to speak, to sing, to share their thoughts without fear and to have their views seriously considered in decisions affecting their own lives, including family matters and broader community issues. When all of these rights are practised in true spirit, a child’s day becomes bright, but when they are denied, the day becomes heavy.
‘My Day, My Rights’ urges adults to listen to the views and stories of their children. Sometimes, all a child requires is someone to listen — truly listen — to the story of their day. Therefore, parents, teachers, leaders and communities must step into a child’s world to feel their joys, understand their problems, listen to their stories and make a promise that no child’s day should be filled with suffering, neglect or sorrow.
On this World Children’s Day, we must learn that every single day in a child’s life can shape his lifetime. A day would be fabulous and prosperous for a child if his rights are guaranteed and would be gloomy and unprosperous if his rights are infringed. Child abuse trauma can have lifelong adverse effects on the physical, mental, cognitive and social development of a child and ultimately destroy their brighter future. If we wish a brighter future for our children, we must uphold their rights not only on world days of celebration but every hour of every day so that their future becomes bright.
Every child is born as an innocent and sinless human being, i.e., with a pure natural spiritual state towards religion. Their feelings are natural, emotions are true, honesty is pure, and their fears are real. All children by birth have some innate spiritual capacities, which, inter alia, are self-awareness, wisdom, compassion, empathy, love, awe and wonder, mindfulness, curiosity, imagination, and wonder. However, these innate spiritual capacities can only flourish through the proper upbringing of a child by their caregivers and the fulfilment of their fundamental rights. Every day provides an opportunity for us to nurture and flourish these spiritual capacities of our children for their spiritual development and realization of their spiritual rights.
In conclusion, World Children’s Day 2025 and its theme ‘My Day, My Rights’ remind us that children’s rights must not only be acknowledged in speeches, policies, laws or documents but must be lived and felt every day. ‘My Day, My Rights’ is not only a theme; it is a promise. A promise that no child will ever wake up to a day filled with fear or loneliness. A promise that every child’s day should be filled with laughter, learning, protection, and love. When we honour these promises, we give children not only their rights but also invest in a brighter and more peaceful world for generations to come. A society that listens to its children, protects them from harm, provides them with equal opportunities and upholds their rights builds a brighter and more compassionate future for children.
—The writer is lawyer, writer & child rights expert former Programme Policy Advisor at National Commission on the Rights of Child, Govt of Pakistan, Islamabad.
