As per the country’s Children Act, youth are considered as children till the age of 18 years. On Sunday, with reference to the killing of a teacher in Savar and spreading of teen gangs, the government’s cabinet committee on law and order proposed to reduce child’s maximum age to below 18 years.
However, lawyers, children rights activists and child psychologists commented, it won’t be possible to refrain children from committing crimes just by reducing child’s legal age without ensuring proper environment and humanitarian education for children, identifying the people behind involving children in various crimes and bringing them to punishment.
According to them, it will take changes in many places including the national child policy, international convention etc to rectify the maximum age of children.
Punishment is not the answer: Shahdeen Malik
Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik believes, reducing child’s legal age will go against international law. He told Prothom Alo, 18 years is the internationally recognised age limit of being considered a child.
First of all, changing the age limit will go against the international law. And secondly, there is a misconception in the country that social problems can be solved through punishment. That’s why the society has become punishment-based.
He added, 18 years is considered the ceiling of child’s age because youth aged less than that lack the ability to comprehend why they are committing criminal acts and why they are being punished. They simply don’t realise that it won’t result in a good outcome.
Therefore, instead of decreasing child’s age limit, a learning-friendly environment has to be created so they can develop properly.
Being respectful towards each other, tolerance and democracy have to be practiced in the family, society and politics. Children imitate whatever they see around them while growing up.
Sudden decision won’t be wise: Wahida Banu
Wahida Banu, executive director of ‘Aparajeyo Bangladesh’, a non government organisation on children rights protection said to Prothom Alo, there’s a necessity for an adequate amount of discussion and debate on this topic. No sudden decision can be implemented.
The government has signed all the international conventions supporting the issue of being considered a child up to the age of 18 years. That has to be taken into consideration as well. If this proposal is implemented, it will be conflicting with those policies as well.
In 2017, the government took an initiative to amend the children act of 2013. That was not finalised. Children rights activists aren’t aware of the current condition of that amendment.
Addressing the government she added, there’s no use in blaming just the teenagers for the spread of teen gangs. She urged the government to take measures for finding out the masterminds behind this.
Control not possible simply by reducing age: Helal Uddin Ahmed
Helal Uddin Ahmed, an associate professor at the child, adolescent and family psychiatry department of the national mental health institute and hospital has emphasised on planning separate amendment for each of the children that had been in a clash with the law.
He said to Prothom Alo, in scientific terms the process of forming an individual’s personality is completed near the time he or she approaches the age of 18 years.
The international child convention has advised every country on signing the point about fixing child’s legal age up to 18 years after taking their own socio-cultural background into consideration. Those who are unable to follow this didn’t sign it. Many countries are operating under their own law keeping the legal age of children at 12, 15 or 16 years.
Before implementing the proposal on reducing the legal age for children, Bangladesh has to consider the fact that it is one of those countries that have ratified the international child convention. The fact, whether the reduction of child’s legal age limit will prove to be beneficial or detrimental, has to be evaluated too.
There has to be data and proof showing the rate of adolescents aged below 18 years committing criminal acts, adolescents of which age group are getting involved in which type of offenses more and sorts. Plus, people behind running the teen gangs have to be identified, he added.
Correctional centres are being stressed on around the whole globe. Crime cannot be fought just by reducing their legal age limit.
What the minister says
Liberation war affairs minister AKM Mozammel Haque is the convener of the cabinet committee on law and order. Regarding the proposal forwarded from a committee meeting held at the state ministry on Sunday he said to Prothom Alo, the committee has urged the law minister to take an initiative for considering the proposal on bringing child’s age limit down from 18 years.
The reason behind is that, it is irrational to consider an individual as child up to the age of 18 years.
Only recently, a teacher was killed by one of his students. Incidents of friends being murdered by other friends are being noticed too. As they are still considered as children, they cannot be punished.
When asked what will be new age limit for children he said, it should not be more than 14 years. Teens aged between 14 to 18 years needs to be considered as adolescents and thus should be brought under punishment.
In reply to the query whether punitive measures will bring down the crime rate or not the minister said, it will surely drop to some extent at least. The presence of death penalty could not stop killing, but there is the fear of punishment for committing crimes.
Similarly, it might not eradicate criminal tendencies among children. But, it will increase the rate of teens refraining from crimes out of the fear of punishment, he said.
When asked if it will go against the international law, to reduce the age limit the liberation war affairs minister replied that it will be and quite a few laws will have to go through changes. The decision will be finalised only after considering all that that, he added.
* This report appeared in the print and online version of Prothom Alo and has been re-written in English by Nourin Ahmed Monisha.