The Facebook post that stopped a child marriage in Kurigram

On October 6, the marriage of a 10th grade student, Mitu Akhter, was arranged. But a clever use of Facebook prevented it from taking place. The post came to the Kurigram district commissioner’s attention after a user, Riat Dnj, posted on a Facebook group named "Dc Kurigram Fan’s Club." The wedding came to a halt after the Bhurungamari deputy commissioner and upazila administration intervened. Kurigram Deputy Commissioner Abu Saleh Md Ferdous Khan confirmed the matter. Bhurungamari Bhurungamari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) SHM Magfurul Hasan Abbasi also confirmed the authenticity of the news and said: “Learning about the child marriage, we ordered both families to call off the wedding.” After talking to the groom’s father, the UNO warned him. The UNO said: “We learned that the groom was a soldier in the army. So, we explained that marrying such a young girl will cause problems in his job. Later, they agreed to call off the marriage. “We are still monitoring the situation. If they (wedding organisers) disobey, the order, necessary legal actions will be taken against them.” Meanwhile Riat informed the Dhaka Tribune that the young girl is a 10th grade student of Sonahat Girls School who stands fifth in her class. After receiving the news of her marriage via local sources, he posted on the DC Kurigram Fan’s Club Facebook page to draw attention of the administration. Deputy Commissioner Abu Saleh Md Ferdous Khan said: “Once informed, I asked the Bhurungamari Upazila Nirbahi Officer to look into the matter seriously and instructed him to stop the child marriage at any cost. Hence, all arrangements were stopped after talking with both families.” When Mitu’s father, Md Mukul was asked about his daughter’s child marriage, he denied it.