Preventing child marriage

A widely held view is that community support is very important for properly nurturing children. Creating safe space for children is a precondition for flourishing their latent talents. School children must receive required knowledge and support for their physical and mental development. Prevention of unsafe migration, early marriage and advancement of child rights to protection, education and play can ensure such development. The most daunting challenge is to support vulnerable children for reducing unsafe migration and early marriage. Parents, public representatives and teachers need to know how to create and ensure a congenial and convenient atmosphere for children. Multidimensional approaches will be required to this end.

Child marriage has long remained a menacing problem for children. Girls who become victims of child marriage give birth to low-weight babies. These babies suffer from malnutrition creating impediment to the nation's progress. Enactment of law alone for reducing the rate of child marriage will do little if the overall mindset of parents in particular and the people in general of the country does not changed. People are showing little respect to the law of the land and are not refraining still from giving their underage daughters in marriage. This practice is contributing to the country's unbridled population growth.

A survey report by the Plan International, an international child rights organisation reveals that Bangladesh still has the highest rate of child marriage with 73 per cent girls getting married before they become 18 years old. The country's widespread illiteracy, social discrimination, ignorance, age-old superstitions and insecurity of girls are mainly responsible for their early marriage. Underage marriages are solemnised in rural areas of the country where about 90 per cent of the total population lives today. Usually parents and relatives of the girls in rural areas are hardly aware of the ills of early marriage. A girl may attain puberty even at age of 12 or 13. This usually gives her physical ability to procreate. But procreation is not all. Physical, mental and intellectual maturity is needed for a planned family life. Besides, women have to confront many ills like dowry, divorce, rigours of repeated child-bearing, malnutrition and broken health.

Taking all these ill effects of child marriage into account, child marriage should be resisted. There is no alternative to creating mass awareness for fighting this malaise. It is encouraging to note that recently child marriages are facing resistance from the conscious sections of society. Credit goes to the country's conscious people for coming forward to oppose the practice. Creation of mass awareness at the grassroots level can be of help to prevent child marriage. Teachers, UP chairmen and members, village leaders, religious leaders like imams of mosques can play a big role in fighting this social menace.

It may be helpful if the secondary and higher secondary-level students of all educational institutions across the country are encouraged to take oath for prevention of child marriage. After their taking part in the main oath-taking ceremony, students may be encouraged to campaign among people in their locality against the negative impacts of child marriage. Such measures may disseminate a clear message to the young generations for prevention of child marriage.

In this regard a concerted effort is needed to protect child rights. A holistic approach by all government, non-government organisations and individuals concerned has become an urgent need to protect the legitimate rights of children. Children must be freed from all sorts of cruelties and inhuman behaviours, violation, repression and deprivation in order to develop them as worthy citizens and social contributors. Social responsibility and political will play a key role in this regard. Development of children's latent talents alone can help turn the population into future resources. They should be taught positive social values and encouraged to develop healthy behaviours at an early age. But first the need is to ensure children's safety and security and keep them away from child marriage in the overall national interest. A nationwide plan has to be devised to cover every child for developing him or her as a worthy citizen of the country. 

The writer is a retired Professor of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre.

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