ZCZC
BSS-03
PREVENTION-CHILD-MARRIAGE (with picture)
Call for concerted efforts to prevent child marriage
RAJSHAHI, Feb 17, 2021 (BSS) – Collective efforts of all government and non
government entities concerned have become an urgent need to combat child
marriage as it is the precondition for substantial and sustainable
improvement of child and maternal health.
Responsible support from the community, especially religious leaders,
marriage-registrars, parents and influential leaders is very important to
attain the cherished goal.
The observation came at a view-sharing meeting on prevention of child
marriage at the conference hall of Deputy Commissioner (DC) in Rajshahi on
Tuesday.
Association for Community Development (ACD) arranged the meeting in
association with the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund
(UNICEF).
DC Abdul Jalil, Additional District Magistrate Abu Aslam, Deputy Director
of the Department of Women Affairs Shobnom Shirin and ACD Project Coordinator
Monirul Islam addressed the meeting as resource persons disseminating their
expertise on the issue.
The discussants mentioned that practice of child marriage is very harmful,
especially for girls. It seems that girls are treated as a burden to society,
mostly in rural areas, they opined.
It is vital to increase awareness regarding the negative impacts of early
marriage with the help of the mass media, they added.
Eradicating child marriage is imperative in founding a glorious Bangladesh,
they said.
Terming child marriage as gross violation of human rights, they said
children are being married off frequently, despite multifarious interventions
by the government and non-government organisations concerned.
Overall national development could not be possible until the children
coming from the poor and underprivileged families are educated and ensured
all other fundamental rights they deserve, they added.
Physical and mental development of children couldn’t be possible until
they were protected from violence and deprivation, they went on saying.
BSS/AH/GMR/1129 hrs