EDITORIAL: A nation eating its own children

“When a hyena wants to eat its own children, it first accuses them of smelling like goats.” This African adage resounds thunderously with Namibia&#039;s frequent incidents of violence against children, particularly the girl child.The majority of the time, the victims&#039; own family members commit such violence. These young children, who are helpless by virtue of their age, frequently endure suffering in silence out of fear, ignorance or a lack of knowing whom to turn to.A mother was seen brutally beating her own child in a video that went viral over the weekend. The baby&#039;s cries and another person&#039;s fervent demands for the mother to stop the abuse were ignored.Children in Namibia are in serious peril. Parents have always been their children&#039;s first line of defence any time they felt endangered in any manner throughout the course of human history. Now it’s their own parents putting them to the sword.From physical violence to sexual exploitation, the Namibian child is on her own. Even schools are littered with predators in whom children cannot confide their suffering at home.In church, on paper the holiest place on earth, children have become fodder for preachers’ gratification. Simply put, the Namibian child is a troubled species. She has nothing and no one to turn to in order to find safety from the grasp of even her own parents.

EDITORIAL: A nation eating its own children

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-12

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EDITORIAL: A nation eating its own children

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-12

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