City Desk :
Salma Aktar, a class-five student, was married off at the age of only 12. She became a mother within one year of her marriage with Kamal Mia, a drug addict.
Salma’s miseries intensified further when she had an abortion. With a stigma of not giving birth to a child, Salma at last took shelter to the family of her widowed mother.
Now the 16-year-old is working as a domestic help. In the meantime, she was married off again where she has two children.
Like Salma, Hafsar was married off at the age of 14. She also experienced miscarriage during her first time pregnancy. Her husband Swapan Mia is also a drug addict and sometime sells narcotics for which he suffered jail for a number of times.
Swapan Mia is now in jail in a drug case for two years. In this situation, Hafsar is going through a very difficult time.
While visiting overcrowded Karail slum in the capital, not only Salma or Hafsar, early marriage has brought a curse in the life of many young girls.
According to different sources including the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, the government has taken various steps for stopping early marriage.
Though these measures brought good results, there is a trend of giving early marriage by the low and low middle income people.
Especially the picture of the people dwelling in different slums of the capital and poor families is the same. The guardians of these families marry their children off due to the influence of superstition, religious narrowness and bigotry. Many blame the surrounding condition for it.
Hafsar’s mother said: “My husband now in jail, on the other hand our daughter grew up. In the absence of my husband, the stalkers disturb her in various ways. So we married her off.”
She continued: “But this marriage has brought a danger for us.”
International organisations said South Asian countries are in the front row in early marriage and Bangladesh is not exception from it.
According to the UNICEF, 70 crore girls are given marriage in every year in the world before crossing childhood. That means these girls enter the family life before reaching 18. Of them, 25 crore girls are being pushed to the family life before crossing 15.
Sociologists said abortions happen frequently due to early marriage and many women are suffering from various diseases due to it. In most of the cases, abortion is carried out in unscientific method and completely unhygienic environment.
Salma’s miseries intensified further when she had an abortion. With a stigma of not giving birth to a child, Salma at last took shelter to the family of her widowed mother.
Now the 16-year-old is working as a domestic help. In the meantime, she was married off again where she has two children.
Like Salma, Hafsar was married off at the age of 14. She also experienced miscarriage during her first time pregnancy. Her husband Swapan Mia is also a drug addict and sometime sells narcotics for which he suffered jail for a number of times.
Swapan Mia is now in jail in a drug case for two years. In this situation, Hafsar is going through a very difficult time.
While visiting overcrowded Karail slum in the capital, not only Salma or Hafsar, early marriage has brought a curse in the life of many young girls.
According to different sources including the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, the government has taken various steps for stopping early marriage.
Though these measures brought good results, there is a trend of giving early marriage by the low and low middle income people.
Especially the picture of the people dwelling in different slums of the capital and poor families is the same. The guardians of these families marry their children off due to the influence of superstition, religious narrowness and bigotry. Many blame the surrounding condition for it.
Hafsar’s mother said: “My husband now in jail, on the other hand our daughter grew up. In the absence of my husband, the stalkers disturb her in various ways. So we married her off.”
She continued: “But this marriage has brought a danger for us.”
International organisations said South Asian countries are in the front row in early marriage and Bangladesh is not exception from it.
According to the UNICEF, 70 crore girls are given marriage in every year in the world before crossing childhood. That means these girls enter the family life before reaching 18. Of them, 25 crore girls are being pushed to the family life before crossing 15.
Sociologists said abortions happen frequently due to early marriage and many women are suffering from various diseases due to it. In most of the cases, abortion is carried out in unscientific method and completely unhygienic environment.
