Girls Shouldn’t be Brides Or Mothers

Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world and the highest rate of marriage for girls aged less than 15. 65% of girls are married before their 18th birthday and 29% before they even turn 15.

When a girl is married off at the age of 16, 14 or even 12 (child brides aged 9 or 10 aren’t unheard of either) a large number of problems arise. Most, if not all, have to discontinue education. Their health is adversely affected and many face dire consequences such as death due to early pregnancy. These marriages also subject them to domestic violence, ill-treatment by in-laws, marital rape and often abandonment. 

The main driving force of this inhuman practice is poverty, something that is the root of almost every problem. In Bangladesh, especially in the poorer, rural areas the birth of a girl is seen as a burden or curse while a baby boy is seen as a blessing as it ‘guarantees financial security’ for the family. Families don’t concentrate on educating their girls thinking they’ll marry them off early. While this gender-biased mind-set is on the road to change, it is still far from eradication. On the other hand, those who want to send their daughters to school can’t seem to afford it. While free or very low cost education is becoming more accessible, often families cannot bear the costs of books, uniforms or even the general upbringing costs of the girl to begin with, and choose to get her married.

Higher rates of child marriage are seen in the extreme coastal areas of the country; these are more prone to natural disasters and land erosion which push the inhabitants deeper into poverty. These people believe their daughters will be in better hands if married.  Another prominent cause for parents rushing the marriages is the hope of paying a lower dowry. A dowry is an, illegal, sum paid to the groom by the bride’s family in our subcontinent. The older a bride is- the higher the dowry is likely to be.

Forced, underage marriages are illegal and laws exist to vouch for that. Currently, the minimum legal age for marriage is 18 for women and 21 for men – as stated in the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929. However this is poorly enforced and the punishment – either imprisonment of up to one month and/or a fine up to 1,000 Taka rarely acts as a deterrent to this heinous crime. Widespread complicity by local government officials is a prime factor in facilitating these inhumane marriages. When a marriage is being made official the registrar needs to confirm the age of both parties by checking the birth certificates but many families bribe the officials to make fake certificates. 

While spreading awareness and educating the masses about problems associated with child marriage is important, directly providing poverty-stricken families with alternative means of survival is equally important. Some poor families do not want to force their young daughters into child marriage but the alternative would often be to let them starve; what should they do then? Families in the rural areas, especially large poverty-stricken ones should be given economic support and financial incentives to enable their daughters to continue with school. Government officials and the police need to be more vigilant and active in fighting underage marriages and girls need to be empowered and made aware of their rights. 

The battle against child marriage has been going on for countless years and if we are to protect our girls from violence, harassment, mental and physical abuse and respect their rights to education, healthcare and having the consent to marry, we need to win the battle once and for all.