October 1st was a day when the whole world spoke about children. The day after, we met a 14-year-old girl at the clinic. She was accompanied by her mother and father.
This girl was different from the children usually seen at the clinic. She came in and waited to see the doctor with both hands covering her face. Even in front of the physician, the girl maintained this posture.
The girl’s parents told the doctor that she behaved this way only in their presence. They mentioned that she did not cover her face when she was at other people’s homes without them. The doctor tried to speak to her alone, sending the parents out of the room, but she remained with her face completely hidden by her hands.
Before this condition began, the girl hadn’t been eating properly. She suffered from insomnia. She was angrier than usual and cried without reason. Her parents were highly perplexed by this behavior. “Is this a bad astrological period for her? Has some evil eye fallen upon her?” “Is she possessed by a demon?”
To solve this predicament, they went to the village shrine. The shaman (Kapuwa) told them the girl was behaving this way because she was possessed by a demon. To drive the demon out, he beat the girl severely. He claimed he wasn’t hitting the child, but the demon!
The parents thought, “The demon has been beaten; it won’t dare look at our daughter again.” But what actually happened was the girl reached a state where she wouldn’t even open her eyes near her parents!
Fortunately for the girl, someone had advised her parents that seeking psychiatric treatment would be appropriate. The specialist who examined her concluded that she was suffering from Depression.
The reason this girl was taken to the shaman was the parents’ lack of understanding regarding the symptoms of Depression. Our society still views behaviors like this through a traditional, antiquated lens. How will this situation change? When will it change? This remains an unresolved problem.
Children think and feel differently. Each child is unique. Some children share things with their parents, and some do not. My feeling is that this is determined by the quality of the relationship between the child and the parents. This girl likely had many things she wanted to express, but she may not have felt confident that she would receive proper listening or resolution.
She covers her face when her parents are around because they were the ones who orchestrated the beating by the shaman. Even in front of the doctor, she wouldn’t open her eyes, even though her parents weren’t present, because they were the ones who brought her there. She has reached a psychological state where she doesn’t want to open her eyes anywhere near her parents. That is how a child’s mind operates. In a similar situation, this girl showed this specific behavior, but another child might show different behavior, such as violence or withdrawal.
In any case, the doctor prescribed medication for her depression and advised the parents to keep her safe at a relative’s house until she recovered.
This is just one child we encountered. There are many other such children in society who are helpless and without refuge. There are also many parents who are unaware of their children’s mental health conditions.
And there are also shamans who beat and abuse children in this manner.
Teachers are not allowed to hit children. Should shamans be allowed to?
Shall we talk about this, too, next year on World Children’s Day?
