Children’s Rights Activist
Najat
M’Jid devours books, and adores children. The link between the two is not
fortuitous. It is
through the work of French writer Gilbert Cesbron entitled “ It is midnight,
Dr. Schweitzer” that Najat Maalla, better known as Najat M'Jid, decided to
devote her life to others and become a pediatrician. Childhood fascinates her: "Children evolve; Each child is unique”, says Najat who treats
children but above all respects them, not only for their naiveté and their
impetuosity but also for their very strong capacity of resilience. She observes wandering children in the street
and is revolted by the “hogra” (oppression) and the violence they
suffer. In 1995,
her struggle crystallized within the Bayti association that she founded for
children in difficult situations. While she was a director of the Mother-Child polyclinic of the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) in Casablanca,
Najat was on all fronts concerning the rights and the protection of children.
"When I subscribe to a project, I do it with my guts and my heart”, she
says. In May 2008, Najat M'jid was appointed special UN Rapporteur and traveled around the
world to fight violence against children and make their voices heard. In order to continue to act, she preciously
cultivates her sense of indignation and does not rely on the many awards and distinctions
she has received, such as the Nathalie Masse Prize awarded by the International
Center for Children and Families in Paris in 1997, the European Social Pediatrics
Prize, or the French Prize for human rights, obtained in 2000. She likes to say
that she is not only working "for" but "with" children”: "They
symbolize creativity and the intelligence of survival. We must know how to protect them, to accompany
them so that they can flourish. Children are the actors of change". Historically, the thought of
Theodore Roosevelt inspires:" If we are not able to prepare the future of
our children, we must
prepare our children for their
future. "