A national event addressing gender based violence in the context of early marriage of girls will be held today 09:30 am to 12:00 noon at the CIRDAP International Conference Center in Dhaka.
The event is organized by IMAGE Plus (Initiative for Married Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment) project. The project is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN). IMAGE Plus is jointly implemented by Terre des Hommes Netherlands, Red Orange Media and Communications, Terre des Hommes Foundation, SKS Foundation and Pollisree, according to a press statement.
Deputy Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament Mr Md Fazle Rabbi Miah, MP, will be the chief guest and Ms Mushfiqua Zaman Satiar, senior policy advisor SRHR and Gender, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands will be the guest of honour.
Special guests will be Ms Aroma Dutta, MP, co-chair of Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights, Mr Gaziuddin Muhammad Munir, joint secretary (Admin) and board member SAIEVAC (South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children), Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, and Ms Natalie McCauley, chief of Child Protection, UNICEF Bangladesh.
In the context of Bangladesh, focusing on the early married girls issues, providing social security for women and girls and promoting their rights will contribute immensely to the governments’ special programs to promote women’s development and prevention of child marriage.
The project will help with the 7th Five Year Plan, current PRSP (Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper), National Women Development Policy 2016, especially the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017, and the government's pledge to end child marriage by 2030 at the Girls Summit 2014. The project will also hold significance at the international level, by contributing towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5: Gender Equality) and Goal 10 (SDG10: Reduced Inequalities), along with supporting the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
In this regard, IMAGE Plus has long been striving to put an end to child marriage and improving the lives of early married girls. It is organizing the event to initiate dialogue and advocacy efforts to address the issues that the married girls face, particularly issues regarding gender-based violence. IMAGE Plus aims to build on the success of the 16 Days campaign, with the firm belief that the fight to end gender-based violence against women needs to continue in order to build a gender equal world.