Some progress on rights, but we are not there yet

They will also recall that it took the appeals and other interventions of scores of players or stakeholders, the fray including media institutions, to make the authorities concerned to see the voice of reason and rectify matters.

It is so long ago since the watershed decision that changed the country’s workplace culture that many may be taking for granted what happened. But there is just no way any attempt to erase the chapter on the happy and proud development from books on the country’s history could succeed.

As expected, success in the struggle to create conditions that would trigger or precipitate the all-important ‘revolution’ was far from easy to come by. If one were to put it a little figuratively, it was all a costly war jointly won by the people of Tanzania in that it is the sweet gains we are enjoying today are thanks to their sweat and toil.

For, indeed, it is not only single mothers and their immediate families that are benefiting from the fact that sometime in the 1970s or 1980s Tanzania made rare history. It did so by saying enough was enough and decided that every child had as much right to be raised in a decent social environment as society could afford.

What actually happened is what we are witnessing to this day – that it is not only that full paid maternity leave for every working mother’ is a right but also that the right comes with a ‘bonus’ known as paternity leave to match.

We know that it was possible for the ‘revolution’ to have come much, much earlier, given that international, regional and national protocols or charters underscoring the fundamental importance of the change have been in place – some endorsed or ratified by our own country – for decades.

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child are said to be the only international and regional human rights treaties that cover the whole spectrum of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

In part, the African charter calls for protection of children against abuse and ill-treatment, negative social and cultural practices, and all forms of exploitation, among them begging.

It is especially noteworthy that the charter challenges traditional beliefs and views that often conflict with children’s rights such as child marriage, parental rights and obligations towards their children, and children born out of wedlock.

But while the Charter was adopted by the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) a long ago as in 1990 and took effect some nine years later, its implementation remains far from satisfactory on many scores in many countries.

There is still failure or reluctance in implementation on aspects like encouraging the state to provide support for parents “in times of need”, granting girls the right to return to school after pregnancy, and protecting imprisoned expectant mothers and mothers of infants and young children.

Yes, there has been encouraging headway in Tanzania and elsewhere with respect to several aspects, one of the most visible relating to the promotion of affirmative action for girls’ education.

However, much more must be done before we can justifiably declare that we have reached where we ought to be. It will take a lot of time, effort and other resources, but there should be no back-pedalling.