Impacts on Early Emotional Development

• Share with your colleagues the area of the world you chose and why.

I chose South Asia region and the country of Afghanistan for this assignment. I am always curious about other countries, and how things are in different places. That curiosity brought me to United States, but I am still curious about other countries. Especially other countries where there were strong regiments like the Taliban, so I picked Afghanistan. I could not stop reading the articles in the UNICEF site because each and every one of them explains the hardships of rural life n the country as well as changes that are occurring currently due to the great programs done by UNICEF and other international organizations. It is heart-aching to read about the challenges that the females are faced with in Afghanistan.

• Describe in detail some of the challenges that children in this region of the world are confronting.

Conflicts are still going on in different parts of the country. Women and children are the majority that is being affected by the conflicts. According to a report by UNICEF, “Last year alone 1,282 children were killed or seriously injured due to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. UNICEF calls on all parties to the conflict to ensure that children, women and other civilians are protected at all times and in accordance with international humanitarian law.” This is a huge challenge faced by children.

Another challenge is not having access to the proper health care for children or for the pregnant mothers. There are no hospitals around and transportation is very to find. According to a report on the UNICEF site, Tahira, 30, is a midwife and part of a government health team that visits the most remote parts of Daikundi province. For these women, Tahira is their doctor, their nurse - their lifeline. This is the reason behind most young children not being able to reach their fifth birthday and the death of young pregnant girls.

After reading the articles on UNICEF site I personally feel as if the social barriers, culture, and faith are also working against the girls in Afghanistan. Most young girls are arranged to marry much older men by the girl’s parents due to the customs and poverty. It seems as there is no choice given to these young girls.  In an article on the UNICEF site says, “Most of the women here are child brides,” explained Tahira. “They are not educated at all and they all come from very poor economic conditions.” In that article there was piece about a young girl name Neelab who had to get married to an older person and had to bear the abuse and beatings by him. Neelab, 18, has a three-year-old daughter with jet-black eyes and a cheeky temperament. “I wanted to go to school and complete my education. I never wanted to get married,” says Neelab. “Parents should allow girls to attain legal age and should allow girls to complete their education. “My request is that, if you can, take the message through TV to all parents – that they should not exchange their daughters for money and they should not worry about the honor of the family,” she adds. “As soon as their child is in her teenage years, they should not marry her off without thinking whether she will be happy.”

According to the UNICEF, not having access to immunization is a huge issue in rural area as well as in the areas where there are still the continuation of conflicts. Since 1988, the global prevalence of polio has decreased by more than 99 per cent. Today, there are only four countries – Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan – where the disease remains endemic, meaning more children are affected by polio in South Asia than in any other part of the world.

• Explain how these experiences might have an effect on children’s emotional wellbeing and development.

War is not anyone’s comfort and these children living in a war-torn country have so many affects on their social-emotional development. But not only that; their physical development as well as long-term life also takes a toll from what is going on in the country. Other than the love and care, food, education and health care are the most important pieces for a healthy child. These children are missing out on food, education and health care all together makes the biggest impact on their future. During the regime, there were no opportunities for girls to have an education and it is still tough on girls. According to the UNICEF, Sixty percent of the 4.2 million out-of-school children are girls, and there are no female students enrolled in grades 10-12 in 200 out of 412 urban and rural Districts throughout the country.

Other than the conflicts, not having appropriate health care is the reason behind the most child death in the country. Loss of a child always affect the mental status of the whole family as well. There is no counseling or any other help for the parents or for the siblings to overcome their sorrow due to the loss. Parents not highly educated and faced with extreme poverty is also an effect of continuation of the conflicts.

• Include a personal and professional reflection. Explain the insights you gained and the influences they may have on you as a person and as an early childhood professional.

These are some words that I found as inspirational and hopeful about Afghanistan.

UNICEF Child Protection Officer Farid Dastgeer. “Peace is the key to any success in any area, and especially in child protection, so if there is war, there is limitation of access to the rural areas [and] there is little chance we get to know the real problems of children from those areas.… We need peace so that the community comes forward with their problems, and then UNICEF, along with partners, addresses those problems.”

“More than anything else, it is education that offers the greatest hope for the future of Afghanistan,” said Peter Crowley, Representative, UNICEF Afghanistan.

My personal and professional reflection starts with the gratitude to birth place where I got the best possible education without anyone having gender bias against me. Then it makes me think about everything that society takes granted for in the United States. It makes me think about how many times I have called parents regarding up to date physical exams and current dental exams. Even though the children have the opportunity to go to a doctor or dentist, parents tend to forget it. How children not care about the education but care about everything else and get their lives miserable. The biggest influence it created on me is that I wish I could go and be there for a while someday. I am a person who is not for conflict and war and this is another example what they could do for the people of that land.   

Reference: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html.