<
https://www.positive.news/society/teen-leaders-take-on-child-marriage-in-bangladesh/>
"An initiative that empowered girls in rural Bangladesh to tackle child
marriage has shown encouraging results in a country where the practice is
stubbornly persistent.
Child marriage is illegal in the south Asian nation, but it is still widely
accepted as a cultural norm and the law is poorly enforced. Consequently,
according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 51% of young
Bangladeshi women aged 20–24 were married before the age of 18. Bangladesh, it
adds, has around 38 million child brides, with 13 million wed before turning
13.
The systemic problem is more prevalent in deprived and climate-vulnerable
communities, where girls are seen as a burden and are ‘married off’ by their
families to save money. Experts say that poverty remains the primary driver,
compounded by climate shocks in vulnerable regions, where some areas have
reported sharp increases in child marriage following environmental disasters.
Action Aid, an international charity working with women and girls in poverty,
met the problem head-on in the remote Kurigram district. Through a 12-month
pilot, it provided financial support to families, including scholarships to
keep girls in education, assistance with school fees and lump sums to help them
develop new income streams, including money to purchase livestock.
The charity also helped to establish a network of youth clubs totalling 120
members, creating a safe space for girls to discuss challenges, share
experiences and actively stop child marriages from going ahead.
According to Action Aid, the initiate prevented at least 18 child marriages,
provided scholarships for 40 at-risk students, and generated new incomes for 30
vulnerable families."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
