SEPTEMBER 2025 - Flipbook - Page 10
NEWS
FAM Hosts Key Roundtable on Responsible Paren琀椀ng
A significant roundtable was held on
Tuesday 9 September 2025, at the
Municipality of Port Louis, bringing
together government officials, civil
society leaders, religious figures and
community actors to address critical
topics concerning family welfare, gender
equality, social cohesion and responsible
paren琀椀ng.
The Minister of Labour and Industrial
Rela琀椀ons responded posi琀椀vely to these
proposals, acknowledging that their
implementation would require further
prepara琀椀on. He emphasized that these
ideas are important and part of an ongoing
re昀氀ec琀椀on process to improve working
condi琀椀ons, considering various prac琀椀cal
and legisla琀椀ve aspects before adop琀椀on.
The event, under the auspices of FAM:
Fam An Mars, was honored by the
presence of the Minister of Labour
and Industrial Rela琀椀ons, Reza Uteem;
the Junior Minister of Health, Anishta
Babooram; Assistant Solicitor-General,
Sooraya Gareeboo and Aneeta Ghoorah,
Ombudsperson for Children. The event
was hosted by Rama Ersapah.
Ashveen Kutowaroo, President of
Lucky Child, also spoke to underline the
importance of strengthening protec琀椀ons
for children with disabilities and the
necessity of collec琀椀ve engagement for
their well-being. She stressed promo琀椀ng
equality and integra琀椀on to ensure a be琀琀er
future for every child, regardless of their
background or abili琀椀es.
The event also featured a presenta琀椀on
by Teesta Maulik, a medical student at
Imperial College, London. As a volunteer
intern with FAM for a month, under the
supervision of Ruqayah Khayra琀琀ee, Teesta
shared valuable insights on the e昀昀ects of
family abandonment on a child’s life. Her
presenta琀椀on highlighted the profound
and las琀椀ng impact of abandonment on
children’s emo琀椀onal, psychological and
developmental well-being, stressing
the urgent need to strengthen legal
protec琀椀ons, social support systems and
community awareness to prevent such
situa琀椀ons and support a昀昀ected children.
During the mee琀椀ng, the president of FAM,
Ruqayah Khayra琀琀ee delivered a speech
emphasizing the importance of parental
responsibility, social inclusion and respect
for all children. She highlighted that the
development of responsible families
must be supported by appropriate
legisla琀椀on, par琀椀cularly concerning child
abandonment. The proposal to organize
mandatory workshops for engaged
couples and new parents was also
discussed.
It was underlined that suppor琀椀ng families
contributes to building a be琀琀er society
and that responsibility in parenting
should be shared equally between men
and women. The need to further support
women in essen琀椀al sectors, including
through two consecu琀椀ve days o昀昀 or a
four-day workweek, was also men琀椀oned.
Ministry of Commerce Tightens Safety Measures for Toys
The Ministry of Commerce is strengthening
safety regula琀椀ons concerning toys. From
now on, all products intended for young
children must feature clear warnings,
wri琀琀en in either English or French.
This decision follows the recent
enforcement of new regula琀椀ons under
the Consumer Protec琀椀on Act. The aim is
to prevent the use of no琀椀ces in foreign
languages that are not understood locally
and to ensure maximum comprehension
of safety instruc琀椀ons by consumers.
Importers, manufacturers and distributors
are hereby warned: no toy may be
imported or marketed without explicit
safety markings. Non-compliant products
will not be permi琀琀ed on the market.
The Ministry emphasizes that this ini琀椀a琀椀ve
is designed to be琀琀er protect children from
various dangers — including inges琀椀on of
small parts, choking, electrocu琀椀on, toxic
substances or improper use.
A key reminder behind this reform: a safe
toy equals a protected child.
Parents and consumers are encouraged
to report any non-compliant products by
calling 185.
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The session also included perspec琀椀ves
from the Assistant Solicitor-General,
Sooraya Gareeboo, who provided an
in-depth analysis of the legal framework
related to family abandonment,
emphasizing the importance for every
ci琀椀zen to understand these laws.
Throughout the event, collective
commitment to a resilient and equitable
society was rea昀케rmed, where families
play a central role in na琀椀onal progress. The
roundtable concluded with a call to ac琀椀on
for collaboration among policymakers,
community leaders and ci琀椀zens to create
a future where every Mauri琀椀an family is
valued, supported and empowered.
