Stopping underage marriage

Individual activism for social causes is yet to take root in Bangladesh. However a person belonging to the working class has set an example, worthy of imitation, in this regard. According to a report published in a vernacular daily recently, Anwar Hossain, a carpenter from Bogra, has taken it upon himself the responsibility of raising awareness about the evils of child marriage in Bangladesh. Riding his bicycle he has visited all the 64 districts and most of the upazilas of the country and publicized about the harms that child marriage can bring upon the society.
While we indeed appreciate the contribution of Anwar Hossain, his endeavour should be shared and replicated by others to make a positive change in the society. In another recent development in Munshiganj district, through the combined effort of the stakeholders–public representatives, religious leaders, influential people of the localities and the general people much improvement has been made in resisting early marriage. In eight months, dozens of attempted child marriages have been thwarted and the authorities hope that by the end of this year the district can be declared as a child marriage-free one. We applaud this worthy campaign. It is expected that the rest of the districts will follow suit in this regard.   
Child marriage is a curse. Quite often girls from poor families are given in marriage to relatively rich old men and the parents rationalise such marriages by asserting that the girls will enjoy better life than they could ever hope for at parental homes. The argument is quite facetious because a well-fed slave is a slave nonetheless and promise of some comfort is no compensation to a minor girl’s sexual exploitation or denying her possibilities of development into a useful member of society.
The very fact that the society here should be called upon to discuss in the 21st century the pros and cons of child marriage that offers a measure of social and intellectual regression that the nation has suffered. Nevertheless, the urgency of addressing the issue is manifest.
We do thank the government for backing away from a proposed legislature to decrease the marriage age. Unfortunately though there is a caveat here. The parents can marry off their girls below the age of 18. This is something that is almost sure to be abused. In any case, the authorities have failed to stop underage marriage and many girls are married off in their early teens by using forged documents. Most Bangladeshis are Muslims and contrary to what many believe, there is not any text which makes it obligatory on Muslims that they should get their daughters married before the age of 18.

 

Stopping underage marriage

Individual activism for social causes is yet to take root in Bangladesh. However a person belonging to the working class has set an example, worthy of imitation, in this regard. According to a report published in a vernacular daily recently, Anwar Hossain, a carpenter from Bogra, has taken it upon himself the responsibility of raising awareness about the evils of child marriage in Bangladesh. Riding his bicycle he has visited all the 64 districts and most of the upazilas of the country and publicized about the harms that child marriage can bring upon the society. While we indeed appreciate the contribution of Anwar Hossain, his endeavour should be shared and replicated by others to make a positive change in the society. In another recent development in Munshiganj district, through the combined effort of the stakeholderspublic representatives, religious leaders, influential people of the localities and the general people much improvement has been made in resisting early marriage. In eight months, dozens of attempted child marriages have been thwarted and the authorities hope that by the end of this year the district can be declared as a child marriage-free one. We applaud this worthy campaign. It is expected that the rest of the districts will follow suit in this regard. Child marriage is a curse. Quite often girls from poor families are given in marriage to relatively rich old men and the parents rationalise such marriages by asserting that the girls will enjoy better life than they could ever hope for at parental homes. The argument is quite facetious because a well-fed slave is a slave nonetheless and promise of some comfort is no compensation to a minor girls sexual exploitation or denying her possibilities of development into a useful member of society. The very fact that the society here should be called upon to discuss in the 21st century the pros and cons of child marriage that offers a measure of social and intellectual regression that the nation has suffered. Nevertheless, the urgency of addressing the issue is manifest. We do thank the government for backing away from a proposed legislature to decrease the marriage age. Unfortunately though there is a caveat here. The parents can marry off their girls below the age of 18. This is something that is almost sure to be abused. In any case, the authorities have failed to stop underage marriage and many girls are married off in their early teens by using forged documents. Most Bangladeshis are Muslims and contrary to what many believe, there is not any text which makes it obligatory on Muslims that they should get their daughters married before the age of 18.