A High court in Zimbabwe has outlawed corporal punishment for children
both at home and in school. Although a constitutional court will have to
confirm the judgement, the ruling states that Parents and teachers are not
allowed to lay their hands on children even if they misbehave.
The ruling comes after a parent, Linah Pfungwa, complained that her
child in grade one had deep bruises after a teacher beat her. Linah said her
daughter had been punished for failing to have her reading book signed by
guardians as proof she had done her homework.
Ms Pfungwa, who filed her application with support from the Justice for
Children's Trust, said her child was assaulted with a rubber pipe. In her
application, she said that children should not be subjected to any form of
violence and such corporal punishment breached their rights.
"My child suffered major bruises
and I took photographs and pictures... She had deep bruises on her back and she
could hardly sleep properly. I posted the pictures of my daughter on our
WhatsApp group for other parents to observe and it turned out that other
children had also been assaulted. If my child misbehaves, I ground her by
denying her access to television as well as denying her pocket money or other
goodies like sweets and presents," she said.
"If she does well, I reward her by presents or extra hours of
watching television. My child is well-behaved and well-brought up simply as a
result of the dialogue that I use as a means of discipline," Linah
added.
Justice David Mangota agreed that corporal punishment for children was
unconstitutional and parents and teachers should not lay their hands on
children even if they misbehave. Some parents are criticising the ruling,
while rights groups says it is long overdue.
Source: BBC Africa
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