Child Marriage in Bangladesh: The way forward

Event Report 10 September 2013 I Dhaka, Bangladesh

The event Child Marriage in Bangladesh: The Way Forward was aimed to create a better understanding of the situation around child marriage in Bangladesh and discuss concrete strategies and actions to address the situation. Two key studies were shared: Stop Child marriage in Bangladesh: Findings of a National Survey (Plan International Bangladesh and ICDDR,B) and the regional Asia Child Marriage Initiative study on Bangladesh by the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), focusing on effective strategies to end child marriage as learned from Plans working areas. This report provides an overview of the key discussion points and actions. Mark Pierce describes the context in his opening remarks The event took off with Elena Ahmed, Interim Country Director, Plan International Bangladesh, drawing attention to the need for a more collaborative effort to end child marriage in the country. Welcoming all with opening remarks, Plans Regional Director for Asia, Mark Pierce, shared the enormity of the crisis from a global perspective and gave an overview of Plans work in stopping child marriage. Mark mentioned Plans Because I Am A Girl (BIAAG) campaign that seeks to drum up support for 9 years of education for girls in order to end child marriage, with education being known as an effective strategy to do so. He also emphasised the need for integrated action and closer partnership among key stakeholders including communities and children to take the movement against child marriage forward.

Findings of two reports on child marriage shared 64% of all women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18, showed the research report titled Child Marriage

in Bangladesh: Findings from a National Survey carried out by ICDDR,B. The

report findings presented by Dr Quamrun Nahar of ICDDR,B also highlighted some of the factors associated with child marriage and suggested some actions that need to be taken to improve the situation. A key finding was the strong correlation between education and child marriage. It was found that 86% of women with no education were married before 18 years of age, compared to 26% of women who had completed secondary or higher education. Higher socio economic status and employment at the time of marriage also served as a protective factor against child marriage. Over 70% of decision makers for child marriage are men. The report also offered a set of recommendations to improve the situation including promoting girls education and the importance of engaging men and boys. Communities are aware of the health implications of child marriage, which can serve to be part of key messaging to change mindsets and social norms. The report also offere a set The second study shared was the Asia Child Marriage Initiative: Bangladesh study. This initiative involves three countries, - India, Nepal and Bangladesh and is spearheaded by Plans Asia region. Tara Sinha from ICRWs regional office presented the findings which underlined some of Plans strategies that have worked well in preventing child marriage and identified areas that need strengthening. Tara mentioned Plans child centred community development approach which focuses on child rights, building the knowledge and agency of the child and helping and supporting them to become change agents; working with local leaders; partnering with the state and declaring and celebrating child marriage free unions (so far 22 unions in Plans working areas have been declared as child marriage free). The study suggests areas to strengthen are creating aspirations and role models for girls, creating safe spaces for girls, providing sustained support for childrens organisations and
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working with parents to help them counter the social pressure to marry off their daughters. Some of the challenges identified by the research towards ending child marriage are poverty, girls deciding by themselves to get married at an early age and weak law enforcement.
Q&A on the presentations Dr Selina Amin, Director, Country Projects, Plan International Bangladesh, moderated the Q&A session that followed the two presentations. Here are excerpts: Q. To what extent does your research reflect on the importance of reducing dowry for ending child marriages? Do you have any recommendations on how we can reduce dowries? Tara Sinha from ICRW: Previous studies have shown a strong correlation between dowry and child marriage. The amount of dowry paid is lower for younger brides. As a result, parents are anxious to get their daughters married at a younger age to avoid paying a bigger sum of dowry. I think the only way you can reduce or stop dowry is by changing peoples mindset. Q. Was the perspective of the public authority reflected in your studies? What challenges are they facing in implementing the law on child marriage? Tara: The public authority has a role in enforcing the law. However, civil society movement to end child marriages can have a greater impact on the enforcement of law. There are specific roles that community leaders can play e.g. Kazis can stop registering marriages without a real certificate that proves the bride is above 18. Q. Do you have data on how many child marriages took place in poorer urban areas because of sexual harassment or abuse? Dr. Quamrun Nahar from ICDDR,B: The study was designed to be nationally representative. So the data was not segregated by socio economic status. Q. We know that one of the main reasons for girls dropping out schools is child marriage. Do you have any information about how many girls had to stop their education because of child marriage? Dr. Quamrun Nahar: The study mainly explored the perceived consequences of child marriage. As such, dropping out of school was not directly identified by the respondents as a consequence of child marriage. However, there was a strong correlation found between education and child marriage which reflects that child marriage has a consequence for girls education. Q. I think we should also work towards changing the marriage law in the long run. At present marriages in Bangladesh are governed by Family Laws which are different for different religious groups. The way marriages are conducted also has impact on the prevention of child marriage. Whether or not marriages need pre-registration or can be done on spot has implications on preventing child marriage.

Dr. Quamrun Nahar: It is not clear how realistic it would be to change Family Laws in the context of Bangladesh. Rather it would be more feasible to change the penalty in the existing Child Marriage Restraint Act. In addition, it is important to work with communities to raise the value of girls. Q. We have to work towards changing how society perceives girls i.e. as commodities and how girls perceive themselves to making a lasting change. Have you looked into how communities could be motivated to value girls more? Tara Sinha: It is crucial to raise the value of girls to stop child marriage. One way could be making the girls economically more productive. Q. Have you seen any correlation between child marriage and domestic violence or multiple marriages by men? Is it related to girls marrying older men? Child marriage also has a strong association with trafficking of girls. Have you found any association between the two factors in your study? Tara Sinha: Previous studies have found a strong correlation between child marriage and domestic violence. However, it is not always related to girls marrying older men. Dr. Quamrun Nahar added that domestic violence was not identified as a perceived consequence of child marriage in the ICDDR,B study. However, respondents mentioned mental violence as a consequence of child marriage. Q. Do you have data on the age of the groom? Are the child brides marrying adolescent boys, more matured men or elderly men? Have you looked into how men and boys could be involved in prevention of child marriage and as change agents? Dr. Quamrun Nahar: Girls are mostly marrying men who are 9-10 years older than them. In terms of education, however, the men are not more educated than the girls. Wedding Busters screened The question answer session was followed by screening of a Plan video titled Wedding Busters. The video basically captures PIBs work to stop child marriage, especially how childrens organisations and Community Based Organisations are playing a central role in preventing child marriage. It can be found here.

The Youth Speaks Five youth advocates from Plans working areas Arjina Begum and
Keshob Roy from Nilphamari,

Oly Ahmed and Tamanna Akhter Zinnat from Dhaka and Ruma Begum from Gazipur shared their experiences of stopping child marriages in their communities in the Child Marriage Free Zones they live in and which they attributed to. Conducted by Tony Michael Gomes, Director, Communications and Public Relations, the youths narrated what motivated them to get involved with Plans programme, how have they been doing the extremely hard work of persuading the people to refrain from child marriage, the odds they faced and the success they achieved.

The youth advocates awarded

It started with Keshob Roy receiving the Youth Courage Award for Education from the UN Secretary Generals Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown, announced in July. Meher Afroze Chumki, MP, State Minister, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MOWCA), handed over the award. The other four advocates were also recognised for their outstanding contribution in preventing child marriage and promoting education in their respective communities.

Expert panel discussion: the way to move forward

An expert panel discussion on child marriage drivers in Bangladesh and actions required to end child marriage was held. Chaired by Elena Ahmed (Interim Country Director, Plan International Bangladesh) with panellists: Dr. Ubaidur Rob, Country Director of Population Council Bangladesh, Naved Ahmed Chowdhury, Poverty and Social Protection Adviser, DFID and Professor Israt Sharmeen, President, Centre for Women and Child Studies. Elena Ahmed started with calling for a concerted effort to end child marriage in Bangladesh. She pointed out that as a result of the inclusion of child marriage as an indicator for the Post 2015 Development agenda, Bangladesh has seen increased efforts directed towards ending child marriage. She also asserted the need to involve the media in this effort and referred to The Daily Stars initiative where the media leaders had sought cooperation from the development organisations and civil society members to develop media messages targeted towards changing peoples mindset around child marriage. She

invited the panel members to discuss the key initiatives that could prevent child marriage in Bangladesh and the commitments they would like to make towards ending child marriage. Dr. Ubaidur Rob, Country Director of Population Council Bangladesh, thought education was key and emphasised the need to support girls to complete higher secondary education as well as expanding access to technical and vocational education and creating employment opportunities for girls as a strategy to end child marriage. He drew attention to the disparity between the different regions in terms of the child marriage rate and correlation between social insecurity and child marriage. Prevalence of child marriage is higher in the southern region of Bangladesh. This part of the country is also associated with a high incidence of child trafficking, landlessness and separatists activities leading to social insecurity. It is likely that the two are related. To make the best use of resources he recommended that efforts to end child marriage should concentrate on these hotspots. He also commented that research on interventions that proved effective in ending child marriage is woefully little. Although there is evidence of effective interventions from other countries, it is not well known how those interventions would work in Bangladesh. Dr Rob mentioned the recent Population Council Bangladesh conducted randomized control trial study, Balika, to find out the effective interventions in preventing child marriages in Bangladesh. He said he would share the findings from this trial and hoped that it would help to come up with effective programming to address child marriages. He committed to sharing PopCouncils resources on evidence to end child marriage overall. Naved Chowdhury, Poverty & Social Protection Advisor for DFID Bangladesh, shared that involvement of men and boys in stopping child marriage in Bangladesh is pivotal. He argued that girls get married at a younger age because there are men who want to marry younger girls. So, greater efforts should be targeted at changing the mindset of boys and men. Besides, interventions which promote girls agencies and self worth and help them to remain in school are also equally important and so is keeping the cost of schooling affordable to families e.g. stipend programme could be one solution. He cited the examples of EPI and family planning campaigns in Bangladesh which were very successful in changing the mindset of people. He suggested campaigns which use short but effective messages that can change peoples mindset and behaviour are needed. On behalf of DFID, he committed to promote programmes that would engage men and boys and support the existing platforms in Bangladesh that worked for ending child marriage. Professor Israt Sharmeen, President of the Centre for Women and Child Studies, called for creating a safer social environment for girls. She argued that sexual harassment is one of the causes of child marriage and thus such offenders need to be harshly punished to reduce such behaviour and give girls a feeling of safety. She recommended entrusting the grassroots organisations as the principal movers in the efforts to stop child marriage as they are the ones that work very closely with the communities. With regard to girls education she pointed out that waiving school fees are not enough because parents have to provide private tuition cost that we often fail to factor in. As for behaviour change communication she cited the success of Meena in changing mindsets. She also drew attention to the link between child marriage and trafficking and highlighted the need to involve the law enforcement agencies. She
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recommended that there should be female police officers in the model police stations and they should act as advocates for preventing child marriage. She committed to integrating the prevention of child marriage to the trafficking prevention programme in Satkhira, where she is involved in, including the school campaigns. Photo stories on young mother screened The next item was a 10-minute video screening where six photo stories on six young mothers were narrated. Each story was described through six photos depicting the life of a young mother, her struggles and despair but also her strength. Taken by Bernice Wong these have also been put together in a publication called Age Matters in Marriage. Bernice is a freelance photographer from Singapore who shared how the death of a newborn baby from birth asphyxia touched her during her assignment. Closing speeches

Argentina Pinto Matavel Piccin, Country Representative of UNFPA in Bangladesh,

applauded the young volunteers of Plan International Bangladesh for raising their voice and working towards ending child marriage in their communities. She said that the practice of child marriage is evidence that adults have failed our children. Child marriage prevents children from realising their full potential and this culture should be changed. She highlighted the role of civil society to push this message. She was most emphatic with regard to expressing commitment. She informed that this year UNFPA has decided to make child marriage the theme of their flagship report The State of the Worlds Population. Terming the child marriage situation in Bangladesh as a national crisis, Piccin urged development partners to rally behind the cause. Pledging UNFPAs commitment on this she said, referring to the presence of UNICEF and UN Womens Country Representatives, that the UN is with fully behind this effort and called for others to join in action.

Heather Cruden, High Commissioner of Canada,

said she was inspired by the young volunteers and their passion to end child marriage in their communities. She stated that the studies on child marriage in Bangladesh would help designing programmes to stop child marriage in the country. She said although globally child marriage is declining it is not reducing fast enough. Canada takes principal position on child protection, gender equality, womens empowerment and full participation of girls and women. Consideration for the unique vulnerabilities of children has a key position in framing the foreign aid policy of Canada. The High Commissioner asserted that without addressing protection and the security of girls and women, it is not possible to achieve lasting improvement in health and development.
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Child marriage threatens the lives of girls and increases their risk to violence, malnutrition and poor health. She emphasised that although changing a cultural norm may take years, we must start now.

The Chief Guest of the event, Meher Afroze Chumki MP, State Minister, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh, said that child marriage is a barrier to womens empowerment, achieving gender equality and reducing maternal and infant mortality rate in Bangladesh. It is not only a human rights violation but also a barrier to development. Despite the existence of a law against child marriage, it is widely prevalent especially in poor, rural and hard to reach areas. Chumki reiterated the Bangladesh governments commitment towards ending child marriage by citing measures such as a stipend programme for girls, implementation of the adolescent reproductive health strategy, school health programme, and adolescent friendly service centres etc. She opined that community members and girls themselves are increasingly becoming more aware of the negative consequences of child marriage. Chumki concluded by requesting NGOs and donors to keep their support going and work in partnership with the government in ending child marriage. In his closing remarks, Mark Pierce, Asia Regional Director for Plan International, thanked everyone for joining hands with Plan International Bangladesh to end child marriage and for expressing solidarity in improving girls lives. He called attention to the fact that child marriage is more than a social issue and is a major violation of human rights. During this event some strategies have been highlighted by the research studies and the panel discussants, e.g. girls education, changing legislation, birth registration and engaging young people, especially men and boys. He believed that the way forward would be to look for ways to come together and address child marriage in a coordinated manner. The event ended with the youth volunteers appeal to the audience to keep their commitments towards ending child marriage in Bangladesh with a Raise Your Hands in a show of solidarity.
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