Rauda Altenaiji

The Failure to Protect Gaza's Children: 12-year-old Mennah, the daughter of my friend Na'ama, was denied entry today to a makeshift educational tent in Gaza's humanitarian zone because teachers deemed her clothing insufficiently "modest" and demanded she wear a full head-to-toe covering. When she refused, they allegedly accused her of lacking morals and good behavior, then punished her by forcing her to remain outside in the sun until her mother could be contacted. This is not education. It is coercion, humiliation, and ideological indoctrination imposed on a child. It is especially alarming that such spaces may be supported, directly or indirectly, by international humanitarian funding provided by Western governments and taxpayers. No child should be excluded from learning, shamed, or disciplined for failing to conform to extremist interpretations of religious dress. These educational tents must be subject to rigorous monitoring, safeguarding standards, and independent oversight to prevent the abuse, neglect, and radicalization of children. Gaza's children need safe learning environments that promote dignity, tolerance, and opportunity, not fear, intimidation, or ideological conformity. There is little hope for meaningful educational recovery if children remain exposed to actors who prioritize dogma over their welfare. The international community should focus on creating secure, professionally supervised educational spaces with clear child-protection standards and accountability mechanisms, ensuring that every child can learn free from coercion and abuse. Shame on any government, NGO, aid agency, or donor that funds educational programs without demanding transparency, oversight, and robust child-protection safeguards. Humanitarian assistance should protect children, not enable environments where their rights and dignity can be violated.