The King and the Queen of Belgium advocated for children’s right to play and learn during a cricket match with Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag and boys and girls from two Mumbai schools at Oval Maidan, Mumbai.
Their Majesties are in India on a State Visit from November 5 to 11, 2017. During her stay, Queen Mathilde, in her capacity as Honorary Chairperson of UNICEF Belgium, had the opportunity to witness a full range of programmes where UNICEF supports the Indian Government to achieve results for children, notably in the areas of water and hygiene, child protection, child participation and girls’ empowerment.
No matter the country we live in, we have to ensure that children grow up in a safe family environment. We need to protect girls and boys from all kind of violence and harmful practices and prevent child maltreatment. As a UN Special Advocate, I attach importance to the Right to Education for all children,” Her Majesty.
It is high time we empower our women and girls, and sports is a wonderful way of doing so. While speaking with the children we learnt that UNICEF’s work with the sport is grounded in its mission to ensure that every boy and girl irrespective of their ability and background have the right to play and participate in sports in a safe and healthy environment,” Virender Sehwag after the match.
Her Majesty Queen Mathilde had a closed-door meeting with school children from Maharashtra who discussed personal safety, the importance of life skills and adolescent empowerment, especially the empowerment of girls and prevention of child marriage.
During her stay in Maharashtra, Her Majesty the Queen inaugurated a song about hand-washing. Coordinated by the University of Hasselt in collaboration with Belgian students and volunteers, the song was donated to UNICEF to serve as another creative tool to generate awareness around the already successful Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan in the country. Queen Mathilde underlined the importance of good hygiene practices to increase school attendance and reduce the incidence of disease.
Child marriage negatively influences children’s rights to education, health and protection. These consequences especially impact the girl directly, but also her family and community. Girls and boys married as children more likely lack the skills, knowledge and job prospects needed to lift their families out of poverty. They are unable to contribute to their country’s social and economic growth.”
The visit comes ahead of the first World Children’s Day set for November 20 to mark the anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. A day for children and by children, it aims to give a voice to the voiceless and allow children from around the world to take over key roles in media, politics, business, sport and entertainment to help save children’s lives, fight for their rights and fulfil their potential.
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