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The reality of children’s and women’s rights in DRC

As well as being a teacher and trainer in the field of children in difficult situations, and a member of several national and international networks, I am also director of the “Anges du Ciel” charity in Kinshasa which aims to promote and protect the rights of children and women in difficulty...

I am now in Belgium to learn about different practices and activities with a view to adapting them to the situation in Kinshasa, and I would like to offer you an assessment of the current situation in the Congo as well as my impressions since my arrival in Belgium.

Analysis of the situation in DRC:

The condition of women and children in the DRC requires a certain consideration and understanding, in order to find a sustainable solution. Indeed, there are now several international declarations and conventions on children (eg. the International Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989, the New York Assembly in 1990, etc.) and women (Convention on the elimination of all forms of violence against women, etc.). The Congolese government has therefore had to adapt its national legislation. We also have the 2006 constitution, the law on sexual violence and the child protection law of 2009 to guarantee these rights and ensure that they benefit from protection measures in all fields. However, Anges du Ciel has noted that in terms of children’s and women’s rights, there is still much to be done to make the government actually adhere to and respect the commitments that it has freely subscribed to, (social deviation of young people, lack of education, juvenile delinquency, family neglect, prostitution and illiteracy). There can be no solution to any of these obstacles or abuses without the involvement of men and women who are henceforth committed to contributing to overcoming these problems. With every passing minute, women and children are suffering from severe forms of violence. Their situation is dire.

My impressions in Belgium:

In the DRC, there are many children alone on the streets, while in Brussels, children are always accompanied by their parents. A minimum social life is guaranteed. Here, children have the right to speak and adults listen to them. In Belgium, children have the right to education and training but they also have access to forms of leisure and they learn civic activities such as sorting waste and composting. Through this initiation, I have noticed that the city is clean, everybody takes responsibility for their own actions and people don’t need anybody to tell them what to do.
Many young, and even less young, people give their time to voluntary activities and are concerned for their country. In Kinshasa, most children do not have time to play or take part in leisure activities, as they must work in the street to earn money so they can eat. The same goes for street children as well as children who do have a home; children are considered to be like adults and are taken for witches when they are disruptive.

As for women, they do not have freedom of thought. They have religious, philosophical and political ideas imposed upon them. Furthermore, women and children are generally seen as inferior beings and their basic healthcare is not always taken care of. Furthermore there is a Congolese proverb which says “muasi a tongaka mboka te”, which means, “women can do nothing for the development of their country nor their home”. In actual fact, women are a driving force for development in the DRC.

Almost all rights are guaranteed and respected here in Belgium; women and children generally live in better, dignified conditions. Where I come from, there are institutions and legal instruments to guarantee access to better conditions but they are seldom implemented in practice. I think that there is still much to be done about this in the DRC.

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