It is simply unacceptable to learn of the uptick in child marriage in Bangladesh; as per the latest data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), at least 41.6% of all girls in Bangladesh were married before they had turned 18, a sickening trend that continues to increase year after year.
It is hard to comprehend that as recently as 2021, this number was 32.4%. It is clear to see that as far as addressing child marriage goes, we have completely and utterly failed -- and this is a collective failure as a nation.
The fact that we speak of becoming a Smart Bangladesh in less than two decades means very little when nearly half the girls in this country are at risk of having no future and being married off at an age when they should instead be in school and learning to become a future leader of this country.
What Bangladesh needs is more girls in schools and universities, not more girls being married off. Education not only empowers girls to make informed choices about their lives but also plays a crucial role in delaying marriage.
More awareness campaigns, which are intensified to change social norms and dispel myths surrounding child marriage are also the need of the hour. Community leaders, religious authorities, and the media can and must all play a role in promoting these positive social norms and educating the masses on just how damaging the phenomenon of child marriage is to not only each and every individual girl, but the entirety of the nation.
Child marriage casts a grim shadow over all the progress Bangladesh has made as a nation. We must do better to eliminate it.
