Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to maintain the minimum age of marriage for girls at 18 years.
The former UN chief made the call in an open letter sent to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Sunday. Kofi Annan, current Chair of The Elders, a group of independent leaders working together for peace and human rights across the globe, made the urge on behalf of the group.
In the open letter, Kofi Annan warns of the dangers of lowering the minimum age of marriage for girls.
On behalf of The Elders, Kofi Annan said they were concerned to learn that the cabinet has recently approved language in the draft Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014 to lower the minimum age of marriage from 18 to 16 years for girls.
“Such a change in legislation would undermine efforts to reduce poverty and improve the welfare of girls and women across Bangladesh.
We urge you to maintain the minimum age of marriage for girls at 18 years of age,” he said.
Writing on behalf of The Elders, Annan praised Hasina's government for committing to end child marriage.
However, he warns that lowering the age of marriage for girls would be “a step in the wrong direction” that would “undermine efforts to reduce poverty and improve the welfare of girls and women across Bangladesh”, with particularly harmful effects for maternal and child health.
“Girls who are married and out of school do not contribute to Bangladesh’s economic development and prosperity, perpetuating cycles of poverty,” he adds.
Bangladesh has made impressive progress in improving maternal and child health over the past decade, however this progress will be hindered if the proposal to reduce the age of marriage goes forward, he said.
In the letter, Kofi Annan said child marriage is a major violation of human rights that holds back girls, their families and their communities. The practice has impeded the achievement of six of the eight Millennium Development Goals.
When girls marry as children, the impact on their health and that of their family is severe, he said.
“Complications in pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of death in girls aged 15 to 19 in low-and middle-income countries; 90 percent of adolescent pregnancies take place within the context of marriage,” it says.
The letter adds: “Where girls survive childbirth, they are at increased risk of injury and other complications: 65 percent of all cases of obstetric fistula, for example, occur in girls under the age of 18.”
“Their children, too, are more vulnerable. Deaths among babies in their first few weeks of life are 50 percent higher among those born to mothers under 20 years of age than among those born to mothers in their 20s,” it also reads.
Likewise, the risk of birth defects, as well as developmental delays and long-term disabilities related to low birth weight, are also higher for mothers under 20, the former UN chief cited.
In the letter Kofi Annan has invited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to work with Girls Not Brides, a global partnership initiated in 2011 that has since grown to more than 400 civil society organisations working to end child marriage and enable girls to fulfill their potential over 60 countries, including Bangladesh.
“We encourage you to work with civil society organisations, development partners and others as you develop and resource a national action plan to end child marriage,” Annan said.
Annan ends the letter saying: “Bangladesh has an opportunity to lead the way in efforts to address this global problem by demonstrating what can be done to end child marriage and secure a better future for girls.”
