Bangladesh: Worsening child marriage scenario

Bangladesh has come a long way since it used to be termed as a basket case. The country can be rightfully proud of its many achievements in  recent years. Bangladesh's economy has been growing at a rate of 6 percent over the last one and a half decades, despite several complications. Poverty has been declining by 1.7 percent every year since 2000.  Bangladesh has already become a lower middle income country and is well on its way to join the middle income country ranks by 2021.
However there are stumbling blocks along the way. Experts believe that among the main obstacles Bangladesh is facing in achieving the coveted status are child marriage, school dropouts and child labour.  In this article let us talk about the issue of child marriage. It is very unfortunate that Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage of girls under the age of 15 in the world, with 29 percent of girls in Bangladesh married before age 15, according to a UNICEF study.
Thankfully the misguided attempts to lower the legal marriage of girls have been stopped. But this has come with the caveat that under-18 girls can be married off with their parent’s consent. The obvious question that arises is that should the authorities allow parents to commit folly. After all the authorities will not let parents preventing their daughter from going to school if they want to.  
The Bangladesh government has ratified the UN convention that defines a child as anyone below the age of 18. So allowing a parent to marry off their daughter at 16 is tantamount to encouraging child marriage, a practice by the way the government is committed to end. The irony here is palpable.
Some parents may decide to betroth a daughter early to avoid the cost of education and ease the financial load of caring for a daughter.
Families sometimes may also marry off their daughters to erase debts or settle feuds. Unfortunately in many parts of this country that practice of dowry continues and money given to the groom's family is lowered if the bride is younger. Child marriage has an adverse impact on the overall welfare of our nation. This must be kept in mind. The welfare of one half of the people who make up the nation — the women and also the children born to them — is also important.
Marriage has many implications; it brings many responsibilities. For this reason, when it is discussed or opinions given out, the broader perspective also needs to be kept in mind. Social customs, after all, have a very wide impact. All the issues involved must be brought into the picture before making decisions regarding it, especially given the dire need to protect women in our country and guarantee them rights as equal citizens.
Child marriage mainly happens because adults believe they have the right to impose marriage upon a child. This denies children, particularly girls, their dignity and the opportunity to make choices that are central to their lives, such as
when and whom to marry or when to have children. Choices define us and allow us to realise our potential. Child marriage robs girls of this chance.
Although child marriage affects both the male and female child, the latter suffers the most. In fact, the boys often grow up and remarry.  On the other hand, the female shoulders the responsibilities of being a wife, a sister, daughter-in-law, and very soon a mother.
She faces ill-health, the danger of losing her own life or her children’s as well as derision and abuse – mental and physical. In addition she has limited autonomy, little mobility and in many cases zero economic power. Child marriages also restrict the mental and social development of girls. Such females are less likely to complete their education and often suffer from poor health because they are burdened with domestic chores and the pressure to reproduce. If our young girls face such a dark future, so will the country.
Child marriage is a human rights and public health issue, which cannot be left unchallenged. First and foremost, it is a violation of certain human rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child . It is therefore an obligation of policy makers to protect the rights of the girl child that the government have committed themselves to uphold. This includes putting an end to child marriage.
If the practice of child marriage is to be halted, action is needed at all levels to change harmful social norms and to empower girls. Specifically, governments, civil society, community leaders and families that are serious about ending child marriage should consider promulgating, enforcing and building community support for laws on the minimum age of marriage. Ending child marriage would not only help protect girls’ rights but would go a long way towards reducing the prevalence of adolescent pregnancy. Zero tolerance of child marriage should be our goal. Enacting laws that ban child marriage is a good first step – but unless laws are enforced and communities support these laws, there will be little impact.
More than reforming words of the law on paper, it is essential for reforming and advocating a reform in the mindset of the people, especially men. This overhaul will be possible by considering women as human being first rather than property or possession that can be exchanged. In any society the culture and how people think about something impact the attitudes to a large extent. What offers a ray of light in such oppressive situation is the thought of progression through education.
Spending on girls’ education is essential to withstand the future challenges in this country. We must all agree and say “Marriages can wait, education cannot.” Education is not only the key to unlocking girls’ potential; but it also contributes to girls delaying marriage across the continent. Studies have established that girls with low levels of education are more likely to be married early, while those with secondary education are up to six times less likely to marry as children.
It is true that weak legislation, lack of implementation of the existing laws, lack of awareness in the public about harmful effects of child marriages, poverty and a lack of stronger will in the government has led to this worsening situation of child marriages. Most of the time the birth of girl is not registered which provides room for manipulation of their age at the time of marriage. In addition, there are as such no central, independent and strong child rights bodies that could monitor child rights violations including the issue of child marriages. The lack of control on girl child marriages also impacts the social and economic fabric of the society. With early marriages leading to earlier pregnancies, it could increase population which is socially and economically crippling and dampening.
The police needs to be sensitised as well on the issue of child marriages. The law gives powers to police to arrest offenders and investigate the case yet this rarely happens in reality. The victim gets no refuge and is stuck in a vortex of threats stemming from the offender, leaving the victim helpless in accepting the established norm. One of the prime recommendations towards curbing child marriages is to increase the punishment for anyone solemnising these marriages.
Punishment should be made applicable to all the parties involved in a child marriage, including the parents of both the groom and the bridegroom, and the person who is an accomplice to such a marriage. It is essential that the law is clear on the legal age for marriage for boys and girls which ought to be same i.e., 18 years. The only parts of the society that could support a move to lower the legal age for marriage the fundamentalists who believe that the women’s role should only be that of a mother and wife.
The existing world order, often based on injustice and unfair economic opportunities, is to a great extent, responsible for the discriminatory practices against women. In summary, early marriage can have several harmful effects on the overall well being of a young girl, or child, who is not mentally, psychologically, emotionally or physically prepared for a conjugal life. However, as played out in many rural and even urban areas of the country, women attain status only through marriage and producing as many children as possible, and preferably, sons.
A strong case can actually be made to increase that minimum age for marriage. Even girls who are married at 18 are denied the chance to pursue higher education and are isolated from society and forced into a lifetime of economic dependence as a wife and mother. Delaying the age of marriage and investing in girls' futures can have a multiplier effect that benefits the community at large.  
Child marriage is just one factor in the lives of many girls and women, but it affects not just their health, education and employment options but also the welfare of their communities an the country as a whole.
We know that empowering girls is one of the most effective ways to improve the health and prosperity of societies. Child marriage perpetuates poverty by keeping girls, their children and their communities poor. To realise change, we first need to provide greater options for girls by investing in them and supporting their families. Changing national laws is not enough. Most countries with high rates of child marriage have outlawed it. Lasting change requires local leaders, public representatives, policymakers, etc. to agree that child marriage is harmful and make a collective decision to end the practice once and for all.

The writer is Assistant Editor of The Independent and can be contacted at: [email protected]

Bangladesh: Worsening child marriage scenario

Bangladesh has come a long way since it used to be termed as a basket case. The country can be rightfully proud of its many achievements in recent years. Bangladeshs economy has been growing at a rate of 6 percent over the last one and a half decades, despite several complications. Poverty has been declining by 1.7 percent every year since 2000. Bangladesh has already become a lower middle income country and is well on its way to join the middle income country ranks by 2021. However there are stumbling blocks along the way. Experts believe that among the main obstacles Bangladesh is facing in achieving the coveted status are child marriage, school dropouts and child labour. In this article let us talk about the issue of child marriage. It is very unfortunate that Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage of girls under the age of 15 in the world, with 29 percent of girls in Bangladesh married before age 15, according to a UNICEF study. Thankfully the misguided attempts to lower the legal marriage of girls have been stopped. But this has come with the caveat that under-18 girls can be married off with their parents consent. The obvious question that arises is that should the authorities allow parents to commit folly. After all the authorities will not let parents preventing their daughter from going to school if they want to. The Bangladesh government has ratified the UN convention that defines a child as anyone below the age of 18. So allowing a parent to marry off their daughter at 16 is tantamount to encouraging child marriage, a practice by the way the government is committed to end. The irony here is palpable. Some parents may decide to betroth a daughter early to avoid the cost of education and ease the financial load of caring for a daughter. Families sometimes may also marry off their daughters to erase debts or settle feuds. Unfortunately in many parts of this country that practice of dowry continues and money given to the grooms family is lowered if the bride is younger. Child marriage has an adverse impact on the overall welfare of our nation. This must be kept in mind. The welfare of one half of the people who make up the nation the women and also the children born to them is also important. Marriage has many implications; it brings many responsibilities. For this reason, when it is discussed or opinions given out, the broader perspective also needs to be kept in mind. Social customs, after all, have a very wide impact. All the issues involved must be brought into the picture before making decisions regarding it, especially given the dire need to protect women in our country and guarantee them rights as equal citizens. Child marriage mainly happens because adults believe they have the right to impose marriage upon a child. This denies children, particularly girls, their dignity and the opportunity to make choices that are central to their lives, such as when and whom to marry or when to have children. Choices define us and allow us to realise our potential. Child marriage robs girls of this chance. Although child marriage affects both the male and female child, the latter suffers the most. In fact, the boys often grow up and remarry. On the other hand, the female shoulders the responsibilities of being a wife, a sister, daughter-in-law, and very soon a mother. She faces ill-health, the danger of losing her own life or her childrens as well as derision and abuse mental and physical. In addition she has limited autonomy, little mobility and in many cases zero economic power. Child marriages also restrict the mental and social development of girls. Such females are less likely to complete their education and often suffer from poor health because they are burdened with domestic chores and the pressure to reproduce. If our young girls face such a dark future, so will the country. Child marriage is a human rights and public health issue, which cannot be left unchallenged. First and foremost, it is a violation of certain human rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child . It is therefore an obligation of policy makers to protect the rights of the girl child that the government have committed themselves to uphold. This includes putting an end to child marriage. If the practice of child marriage is to be halted, action is needed at all levels to change harmful social norms and to empower girls. Specifically, governments, civil society, community leaders and families that are serious about ending child marriage should consider promulgating, enforcing and building community support for laws on the minimum age of marriage. Ending child marriage would not only help protect girls rights but would go a long way towards reducing the prevalence of adolescent pregnancy. Zero tolerance of child marriage should be our goal. Enacting laws that ban child marriage is a good first step but unless laws are enforced and communities support these laws, there will be little impact. More than reforming words of the law on paper, it is essential for reforming and advocating a reform in the mindset of the people, especially men. This overhaul will be possible by considering women as human being first rather than property or possession that can be exchanged. In any society the culture and how people think about something impact the attitudes to a large extent. What offers a ray of light in such oppressive situation is the thought of progression through education. Spending on girls education is essential to withstand the future challenges in this country. We must all agree and say Marriages can wait, education cannot. Education is not only the key to unlocking girls potential; but it also contributes to girls delaying marriage across the continent. Studies have established that girls with low levels of education are more likely to be married early, while those with secondary education are up to six times less likely to marry as children. It is true that weak legislation, lack of implementation of the existing laws, lack of awareness in the public about harmful effects of child marriages, poverty and a lack of stronger will in the government has led to this worsening situation of child marriages. Most of the time the birth of girl is not registered which provides room for manipulation of their age at the time of marriage. In addition, there are as such no central, independent and strong child rights bodies that could monitor child rights violations including the issue of child marriages. The lack of control on girl child marriages also impacts the social and economic fabric of the society. With early marriages leading to earlier pregnancies, it could increase population which is socially and economically crippling and dampening. The police needs to be sensitised as well on the issue of child marriages. The law gives powers to police to arrest offenders and investigate the case yet this rarely happens in reality. The victim gets no refuge and is stuck in a vortex of threats stemming from the offender, leaving the victim helpless in accepting the established norm. One of the prime recommendations towards curbing child marriages is to increase the punishment for anyone solemnising these marriages. Punishment should be made applicable to all the parties involved in a child marriage, including the parents of both the groom and the bridegroom, and the person who is an accomplice to such a marriage. It is essential that the law is clear on the legal age for marriage for boys and girls which ought to be same i.e., 18 years. The only parts of the society that could support a move to lower the legal age for marriage the fundamentalists who believe that the womens role should only be that of a mother and wife. The existing world order, often based on injustice and unfair economic opportunities, is to a great extent, responsible for the discriminatory practices against women. In summary, early marriage can have several harmful effects on the overall well being of a young girl, or child, who is not mentally, psychologically, emotionally or physically prepared for a conjugal life. However, as played out in many rural and even urban areas of the country, women attain status only through marriage and producing as many children as possible, and preferably, sons. A strong case can actually be made to increase that minimum age for marriage. Even girls who are married at 18 are denied the chance to pursue higher education and are isolated from society and forced into a lifetime of economic dependence as a wife and mother. Delaying the age of marriage and investing in girls futures can have a multiplier effect that benefits the community at large. Child marriage is just one factor in the lives of many girls and women, but it affects not just their health, education and employment options but also the welfare of their communities an the country as a whole. We know that empowering girls is one of the most effective ways to improve the health and prosperity of societies. Child marriage perpetuates poverty by keeping girls, their children and their communities poor. To realise change, we first need to provide greater options for girls by investing in them and supporting their families. Changing national laws is not enough. Most countries with high rates of child marriage have outlawed it. Lasting change requires local leaders, public representatives, policymakers, etc. to agree that child marriage is harmful and make a collective decision to end the practice once and for all. The writer is Assistant Editor of The Independent and can be contacted at: [email protected]