Prevent child marriage

A few days ago, I came across a funny incident while visiting a local market. A husband and wife had come to shop. The husband was around 15-16 years old while the wife was 12-13. They were walking around holding hands and happily shopping, when suddenly they got into a fight. After the fight, the husband quickly left his wife and walked forward. The wife started to cry, as if her husband was really leaving her and going home. However, a little further ahead, the husband turned around and scolded his wife, "Don't come!" The shopkeepers were laughing. One shopkeeper said: "This is what happens when you get married at a young age!"

The incident was funny but sad. It immediately reminded me of how many teenagers are still victims of child marriage in Bangladesh! What is known in recent surveys by reading newspapers is alarming. The rate of child marriage in the country is 51.40 percent. The rate of child marriage under the age of 18 is 51.40. And under the age of 15, this rate is 15.50. After COVID-19, the marriage rate of girls aged 15 to 19 has been seen to be increasing. Bangladesh still leads in child marriage among South Asian countries. Child marriage is now decreasing by two percent every year in Bangladesh. However, at this rate, it will take 215 years for Bangladesh to end child marriage.

If the above reasons do not seem enough to panic, then according to a survey by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), it is necessary to keep in mind that 70 out of every thousand teenage in Bangladesh become mothers. And becoming a mother at a teenage is harmful to the health of both the mother and the child. Gynecology and obstetrics experts say that a girl's body is not ready for marriage and pregnancy before the age of 18. Having a child in the womb at this age means 'a child in the womb of a child'.

According to the WHO definition, teenage motherhood is very risky as 60 percent of teenage mothers suffer from anemia. They lack nutrition. Children of malnourished mothers also suffer from the cycle of malnutrition. There is also a considerable risk of miscarriage if a teenager becomes pregnant.

Although the minimum age of marriage for girls remains unchanged at 18 years and for boys at 21 years, the Child Marriage Prevention Act was amended in 2017 to provide stricter punishment for underage marriage. However, due to lack of public awareness and lack of proper alternative education and employment or income opportunities for girls, this law has not had a sufficient impact so far. Despite the implementation of various initiatives over the past three to four decades, such as adolescent development clubs, skill training programs and financial benefits, child marriage has not been prevented. The government had taken an initiative to reduce child marriage by one-third by 2021 in the National Action Plan; but it has not been implemented. It is unlikely to happen in the near future.

The program to end child marriage in Bangladesh needs new thinking and innovative strategies. For this, a change in cultural attitudes is essential. Every person in society must play a conscious role in preventing child marriage. Along with strict enforcement of the law, public awareness campaigns are also essential to prevent child marriage. The government must play an effective role in preventing child marriage with a stronger hand.