Educate, empower girls to prevent child marriage

Education, empowerment and awareness are essential to mitigate early marriage, said speakers at a seminar yesterday.

They said in the char areas of Jamalpur, child marriage, premature birth and high maternal mortality used to wreak havoc on the lives of adolescent girls. However, due to awareness and various initiatives, this has reduced significantly.

The speakers were addressing the seminar on adolescent and youth friendly sexual and reproductive health. The event was organised by Pathfinder International and ESDO at The Daily Star centre in the capital.

To help adolescents in 20 unions of Jamalpur, ESDO initiated Project Shukhi Jibon in 2018. The USAID-funded project has established 198 satellite clinics in 22 remote areas and facilitated sessions on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) rights for young girls to prevent early marriages, said Santosh Kumar Tigga, head of monitoring at ESDO.

Under this project, 1,496 learning sessions on SRH have been provided and a 24/7 hotline number has been launched to provide medical facilities by a certified physician.

Additionally, 2,033 beneficiaries received capacity building sessions on the importance of using clean and safe water, he added.

"Due to fewer education and facilities in the remote chars, I saw many girls being married off at an early age. However, this project helped raise awareness and lessen such incidents in the region," said Amena Rokshi, a volunteer under the project.

Rafiqul Islam Selim, joint secretary of health ministry, said, "Such projects are contributing to the psychological and physical wellbeing of young girls in rural areas."

Around 24 percent women in the country are under 18, which increases maternal mortality rate by two and a half fold, said Md Manzur Hossain, programme manager (MCH services unit) at Directorate General of Family Planning.

"Besides, 40 percent of maternal mortality is caused by adolescent pregnancies. So, it is essential to educate and empower girls," he added.

Sharmin Sultana, the project's technical director, said, "The achieved progress can be sustained through continued support."