Accomplishing his high school graduation last year, Khairul, a 17-year boy living in Purbo Gobaria village under Kuliarchar upazila in Kishoreganj district, enrolled in a technical collage located in the nearby Laksmipur village to continue his study.
And everything was going on the right direction with Khairul attending his classes regularly at the college. But, eventually he fell in love with a schoolgoing girl of Laksmipur. One fine evening last month, he like other teenage lover went to meet her beloved in her home.
While dating in a secret place the pair was caught red-handed by members of the girl’s family. The family members produced the pair before a local court the following day and their marriage was accordingly solemnized.
As per version of the newly-wed Khairul, who is the youngest among his five siblings, he married her girl friend under coercion. Despite being under aged, the family exerted tremendous social pressure on him to do so.
One week after Khairul’s episode, one of his cousins of the same age group, Abdus Samad went missing with his teenage girl friend. Next day, the pair appeared before a court and got married. Two underage cousins got married within a week fading their family image.
Like the cases of Khairul and Samad, many child marriages are taking place in the country. The social menace is occurring taking the advantage of legal loopholes of the concerned law and bypassing legal obligations.
