B’Desh sees progress in ending child marriage, but ‘still not enough’ [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

B’Desh sees progress in ending child marriage, but ‘still not enough’

Local November 30, 2016

Mentioning that Bangladesh has made a very good progress in dealing with child marriage, prime minister’s foreign affairs adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi on Tuesday called for joint efforts to eliminate the problem from the country as it is still far from enough.
‘Although we’ve achieved a very good progress but it’s still far from enough. We all need to join hands to end it (child marriage),’ he told a function in the city.
The Adviser laid emphasis on proper implementation of relevant laws keeping no loophole in the rules.
‘Through child marriage we steal away her valuable time. Her childhood is stolen. Her future is robbed of,’ Dr Rizvi said in a highly emotional speech.
The adviser was addressing an award-giving ceremony on preventing child marriage and reducing gender based violence.
He appreciated the initiatives taken at various levels to stop child marriage. ‘Child marriage is the most egregious form of human rights violation for which the entire society must be held accountable,’ Dr Rizvi said.
He mentioned that a society is judged by the way they treat girls. ‘We must all join hands in fighting this societal scourge.’
Canadian high commissioner in Dhaka Benoit Pierre Laramee said, ‘Much progress has been achieved in regards to child marriage in Bangladesh.’
He said the collective efforts of the government offices, officials and development partners have contributed to reducing child marriage of girls under age of 18 years to 52 per cent from 74 per cent in the last 10 years.
‘This has been possible due to the education and commitment of the government officials who are working at the grassroots level.’
The high commissioner hoped that other officials will be inspired and will in turn be able to further contribute to a reduction of child marriage and gender based violence all across Bangladesh.
The diplomat also appreciated the role of media it is playing in preventing child marriage and reducing violence against women and girls through raising awareness of girls’ rights.
He said a commitment to ending child, early and forced marriages is a commitment to upholding the rights of women and girls.
UNICEF country representative Edouard Beigbeder said all girls and boys should be protected from all forms of violence and discrimination. ‘To prevent violence against girls, we must bring an end to child marriage,’ he said.
The UNICEF country representative said Bangladesh is making huge progress in reducing child marriage. ‘And we must ensure that the progress is accelerated in the coming years.’
He said a stronger law against child marriage which does not allow for marriages of girls under 18, will be an important step forward in the right direction.
Director of BRAC and national coordinator of Girls Not Brides Bangladesh Alliance Anna Minji said, ‘No marriage for girls below the age of 18 to achieve a safer, healthier and prosperous future for all.’
She said this is possible while the mindset, attitude and culture around child marriage in society are changed.
Minji said the epidemic of child marriage underscores the dire need for combined efforts of government, development organisations, private sector and civil society towards ending child marriage. ‘We all must play a role in eliminating child marriage,’ she said.
Minji mentioned that more investment for girls’ empowerment, education, leadership and skill development will help change the lives of girls and young women in the society.
The Canadian high commission honoured an institution and three Bangladeshi officials having demonstrated leadership in preventing child marriage and gender based violence in their communities at the award giving ceremony.
The recipients were Governance Innovation Unit of Prime Minister’s Office, Khulna divisional commissioner Abdus Samad, former deputy commissioner of Lalmonirhat Habibur Rahman and former deputy commissioner of Meherpur Md Shafiqul Islam.