Tale of a lone warrior

Curbing child marriage

Farida Yasmin Fancy has now become an idol in Hatibandha upazila of the district, for raising her voice against child marriage. She has been battling this social curse, with crusading zeal and unflinching spirit.
Farida has been a head teacher of Gendukuri government primary school under the upazila, for the past few years. As a school teacher, she often hears the news of early marriage of her school students. A victim of child marriage herself, she knows its adverse impact on life and society. She is well aware how this social scourge is affecting the lives and future of many students. This feeling inspired her to raise voice and fight against child marriage and other social injustice.
Since 2013, Farida has been motivating parents not to marry their children before 18 and encouraging girl students to pursue higher education for a secure and bright future. The present government has been providing all support to the girl students for their education, she said. Farida has now become a popular name in the area, for her tireless efforts in stopping child marriage. Lalmonirhat, one of the backward districts in the country, has the highest rate of child marriage. Teesta, Dharala, Saniajan and Ratnai river have flown through the district.
River erosion, poverty and lack of job opportunities forced the parents to marry their children at a very early age. They are unaware of the consequences of child marriage and its impact on the health of the victims.
Farida has been able to stop 52 child marriages out of nearly 145 incidents, through her sheer zeal and courage. Now, the mean age of marriage has increased to 17.3, from its baseline 13. The success showed the dynamic role played by some volunteers and individuals like Farida. She has faced many difficulties and received threats from vested quarter, in her fight against child marriage. But, she never shirked from her mission and continued her battle.
Narrating her battle against a marriage of a Class VII student named Monju Ara, in 2014, she said she had informed law enforcers and the UNO to foil the child marriage. Finally, the bridegroom was jailed following a mobile court verdict.
Farida was also involved in various social organisations like scouts, community policing, Char Alliance, teacher association, and other women-related organisations.
Farida began her social work through her engagement in the scouts in 1990. Visiting households and raising awareness for sanitation was the part of regular scout activities. She began to get closely involved in the community and came to know how small girls were becoming victims of child marriage. She decided to battle against this social malaise and, in 2013, she officially associated herself with the GPP of Plan International Bangladesh, a platform which encouraged her to fight against child marriage.
Farida is a winner of JOYEETA, an award that recognised her contribution to the society. She has also been nominated as a volunteer of the year for the global award by a development organisation. Only seven persons have been selected for the award. Among the seven, Farida has been nominated from Asia.
When asked about Farida’s role in battling child marriage, the upazila nirbahi officer of Hatibandha said that Farida played a crucial role in stopping child marriage. She contributed significantly by raising people’s awareness against this social curse.

Tale of a lone warrior

Curbing child marriage

Farida Yasmin Fancy has now become an idol in Hatibandha upazila of the district, for raising her voice against child marriage. She has been battling this social curse, with crusading zeal and unflinching spirit. Farida has been a head teacher of Gendukuri government primary school under the upazila, for the past few years. As a school teacher, she often hears the news of early marriage of her school students. A victim of child marriage herself, she knows its adverse impact on life and society. She is well aware how this social scourge is affecting the lives and future of many students. This feeling inspired her to raise voice and fight against child marriage and other social injustice. Since 2013, Farida has been motivating parents not to marry their children before 18 and encouraging girl students to pursue higher education for a secure and bright future. The present government has been providing all support to the girl students for their education, she said. Farida has now become a popular name in the area, for her tireless efforts in stopping child marriage. Lalmonirhat, one of the backward districts in the country, has the highest rate of child marriage. Teesta, Dharala, Saniajan and Ratnai river have flown through the district. River erosion, poverty and lack of job opportunities forced the parents to marry their children at a very early age. They are unaware of the consequences of child marriage and its impact on the health of the victims. Farida has been able to stop 52 child marriages out of nearly 145 incidents, through her sheer zeal and courage. Now, the mean age of marriage has increased to 17.3, from its baseline 13. The success showed the dynamic role played by some volunteers and individuals like Farida. She has faced many difficulties and received threats from vested quarter, in her fight against child marriage. But, she never shirked from her mission and continued her battle. Narrating her battle against a marriage of a Class VII student named Monju Ara, in 2014, she said she had informed law enforcers and the UNO to foil the child marriage. Finally, the bridegroom was jailed following a mobile court verdict. Farida was also involved in various social organisations like scouts, community policing, Char Alliance, teacher association, and other women-related organisations. Farida began her social work through her engagement in the scouts in 1990. Visiting households and raising awareness for sanitation was the part of regular scout activities. She began to get closely involved in the community and came to know how small girls were becoming victims of child marriage. She decided to battle against this social malaise and, in 2013, she officially associated herself with the GPP of Plan International Bangladesh, a platform which encouraged her to fight against child marriage. Farida is a winner of JOYEETA, an award that recognised her contribution to the society. She has also been nominated as a volunteer of the year for the global award by a development organisation. Only seven persons have been selected for the award. Among the seven, Farida has been nominated from Asia. When asked about Faridas role in battling child marriage, the upazila nirbahi officer of Hatibandha said that Farida played a crucial role in stopping child marriage. She contributed significantly by raising peoples awareness against this social curse.