One in every 3 children faces poverty

CHP Mersin Deputy Gülcan Kış drew attention to the problems faced by children in a statement made for the April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day. Presenting the 2025 data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), Kış stated that children are growing up in deep poverty.

Kış began her remarks by saying, "April 23 is the day when national sovereignty was declared and the foundations of the Republic were laid. Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk gifting this meaningful day to children is the strongest expression of his seeing children as the guarantee of the future."

''MILLIONS OF CHILDREN GO TO SCHOOL HUNGRY, GROWING UP IN INEQUALITY.''

Drawing attention to the 2025 TÜİK data, Kış stated that children are growing up in deep poverty and said: "Children make up 24.8 percent of the population. However, 36.8 percent of children are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This means that one in every three children is facing poverty. Millions of children go to school hungry and grow up in inequality. This picture is unacceptable for the future of a country."

''CHILD LABOR CONTINUES TO TAKE LIVES''

Touching upon child labor, Kış stated that children are forced to work due to economic conditions. She used the expressions, "Children are forced to cling to life not only through poverty but by working. Unfortunately, child labor continues to take lives."

''WE CANNOT EVEN KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE IN SCHOOLS''

Recalling the recent school attacks in Urfa and Maraş, Kış said that children are at risk even in areas where they should be safest. Kış said, "Schools are places where children should be protected. However, we can no longer even keep our children safe in schools. This picture is unacceptable."

"A CHILD'S PLACE IS SCHOOLS, NOT FACTORIES"

Stating that children in Turkey grow up under different conditions, Kış made the following assessment: "On one side there are children celebrating a holiday, and on the other, there are children trying to cling to life. April 23 gains meaning not only with ceremonies but with policies that change children's lives. A child's place is schools, not factories. Not poverty but equality, not fate but a right is essential."

Kış concluded her statement with these words: "The children of this country do not need aid, but the future they deserve. A system that cannot protect its children has no future. We are determined to build a Turkey where children lead an equal, safe, and dignified life."

News Source: 12punto