The Embassy of Switzerland and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Bangladesh will continue a media campaign to end child marriages in the country.
This is a follow-up of a partnership which commenced last year and is part of a national initiative to end child marriages. Both the parties have signed a partnership agreement in this regard at the Swiss embassy in Dhaka yesterday.
The media campaign aims to produce and air six episodes of animated cartoons to increase awareness of consequences of child marriage among the adolescents and youths in both rural and urban areas.
At yesterday’s signing ceremony, Argentina Matavel Piccin, UNFPA representative in Bangladesh, said: “Child marriage perpetuates poverty over generations and is linked to poor health, curtailed education and violence against women.”
The Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh Christian Fotsch said: “Child marriage is a threat to prosperity and undermines the development initiatives of the government and its partners in Bangladesh.”
A recent survey conducted by Plan International Bangladesh indicates that 64% of women currently aged between 20-24 years were married before the age of 18.