First Lady Fazna Ahmed has launched the child-friendly educational storybook, Boss of My Body, developed by Advocating the Rights of Children (ARC) in partnership with UNICEF Maldives to mark the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse.
During the special event held in Hulhumale', First Lady Fazna facilitated a book reading for the children present at the event and highlighted the importance of such a book, and emphasised the need to empower children against abuse. The Executive Director of ARC Zeena Zahid expressed hope that the book will be useful to guide early conversations between parents and children about safe and unsafe touches.
ARC has been working in the area of child abuse prevention since 2010, with the launching of the HOPE Campaign which promotes raising awareness, recognizing signs, reporting abuse, and reaching out. Speaking at the event, UNICEF Country Representative Marjan Montazemi highlighted the need to develop more educational tools such as this to help create safe environments for children.
The book, Boss of My Body, available in both English and Dhivehi languages, is targeted for the ages of four and above and includes various important topics to help protect children from harm. The book is intended to help children have early conversations about safe and unsafe touches. The book includes a wide range of topics related to that subject.
The conversation in the book will vary depending on the needs and values of each child as well as the requirements and values of each family. Some of the content may challenge long-held social and familial standards.