“I do not have any formal education. What use is education when we do not become human beings? My school is the welfare of humanity,” said the late, great humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi.

What was his life-long mission? Perhaps to say and practice that all of us have rights simply because we are human beings. However, learning about human rights is learning about responsibilities; about how changes in attitudes can be brought about in dealing with matters pertaining to discrimination and human dignity. And what better way to do that than through the creative arts!

Rather than going through the usual route of lecturing pupils and handing out sermons on rights and wrongs, the arts — such as drama and role-playing — are ideally suited to exploring complex issues of human rights in an interactive, creative way. As one teacher aptly put it, “Art is not a diversion or a side issue. It is the most educational of human activities and a place in which the nature of morality can be seen.”

To understand that despite differences of race, culture, identity, community or gender, we all have the same rights is to recognise humanity.

The creative arts can be an effective way to teach children basic human rights

Just as the best-known source about human rights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed in 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted in 1989 is a comprehensive statement of the rights of the child. It includes the right to say what you think unless it breaks the rights of others, the right to meet friends and belong to a group, the right not to be hurt, the right to enjoy your own culture, religion and language, etc.

The starting point in ‘teaching’ a human rights or child rights-sensitive curriculum is therefore to begin to develop a vocabulary around rights, needs and wants, and responsibility. This is the basis for preparing children to play an active role as humane and sensible citizens.

In addition, the depiction of rights and other interlinked themes such as peace, tolerance, anger-management and participation, through the medium of drawing and painting, and the use of simple resources makes the learning process more interesting and focused.

Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes

Drama, using gesture and action to develop and convey students’ ideas of rights, is a brilliant medium. You can step into someone else’s shoes and start to actually relate with that character. An effective method to apply could be using one group for a still tableau with frozen expressions and positions depicting a scene and using another group for sculpting the ‘wrongs’ into ‘rights’ — moving and moulding the arms and legs and posture which should describe the right.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that when children photograph real-life situations to visually represent a right, or are encouraged to sing and dance about their rights and wrongs, they learn and understand the concept of basic human rights much better.

It is important to look at each individual’s identity. Rather than approaching identity only as a holistic, nationalistic notion, it is worthwhile to challenge certain stereotypes. This can only be done by acknowledging and understanding differences between people. By developing self-esteem within a group through various activities such as pen-friends, exchange programmes and other forums for interaction with students from a different cultural or geographical location could make children begin to appreciate their differences and similarities.

Activities related to self-esteem and identity as well as to rights and needs could be about reflecting on the importance of a ‘special’ place for each of us. This can be expressed through an art and design assignment by using simple materials such as cardboard shoe boxes, pieces of coloured paper, cloth, toilet rolls, lace, ribbons or buttons. Students would find that while they create their magical spaces and then describe their special 3-D models, the importance of respect for an individual child’s identity is not lost on them.

The students’ understanding of their own individual identity can move into a larger sphere: that of the wider community, by putting up a play, a puppet theatre or painting a mural as a combined project involving several students. Conflicts within communities can be better understood by employing different techniques, such as role-play. If we want to live a purposeful life, then not only should we become role-models for our children but also nurture the younger generation on ‘love for all, hatred for none.’

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, July 24th, 2016