The extended period of school closure amid the pandemic is one of the major reasons behind the increasing number of child marriages in the country, says a study.
The study revealed that 41.4% mentioned school closure, 31.2% noted prolonged lockdowns while 33.5% referred to social insecurity as the main reasons for child marriage.
More than 86% of the participants identified the potential hazards of child marriage on maternal and children's health, revealed the study conducted by Nobo Jatra.
World Vision Bangladesh hosted a national event on Tuesday to share the findings of the study, funded by USAID and titled, “Impact of Covid-19 on Child Marriage and Gender-Based Violence in southwest Bangladesh”, and launch Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) promising practices in Bangladesh.
At the event, they shared the findings of gender-based violence and child marriage in Khulna and Satkhira districts in the context of Covid-19. A total of 856,116 people participated in the study.
Of them, 92.8% spoke of maternal and child health hazards as one of the major negative impacts of Covid-19 while 82.1% said it was child malnutrition, 40.3% noted an increased divorce rate, and 41.4% identified children born with disabilities as other major impacts.
A total of 92% of the participants reported facing psychological and 76% reported physical violence during the pandemic.
The workshop highlighted the fact that male engagement intervention improved shared decision-making and transformed gender relations at the household level between couples. This resulted in broader community-level change through increased participation of men in household unpaid work and childcare.
Nasima Begum, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), thanked USAID as a long-standing partner of the government and spoke of a commitment to continue work collaboratively against child marriage and gender-based violence.
Farida Parvin, director general at the Department of Women Affairs, said: “The government will incorporate constructive features from the GESI instrument. This will be very much useful in the programs and projects led by local government institutions for underprivileged women and children across the country.”
Ken W Hasson, deputy director of USAID Bangladesh, said: “We believe this event has strengthened the partnership between USAID and the government. It has highlighted how our collaborative efforts have advanced gender equality and women’s empowerment.”
Jacqueline Ogega, senior director at GESI World Vision International, said: “The male engagement approach helped thousands of couples improve their relationships, communicate better with each other, value women’s and children’s nutritional health, and understand the risks and consequences of gender-based violence on women, girls, families, and communities.”
The project was implemented in close partnership with the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and Winrock International in Koyra, Dacope, Kaliganj, and Shyamnagar upazilas.
