An 11-year-old girl has been subjected to torture by her parents for sending her hack to her husband’s house.
The incident has been reported in Agailjhara upazila of Barisal.
The girl was married off by her parents two months ago and was sent to her husband's house at that time. After escaping from there, as the girl returned to her parent’s house, she was chained by them with iron shackles to send back to her husband's house. Her parents also tortured her.
The girl is a fifth-grader who was unchained with the help of union parishad chairman on Monday in Agailjhara upazila, Barisal.
The girl reported that as soon as she arrived at her husband's house, she was subjected to abuse by his family. Unable to endure the abuse, she returned to her father's house on Saturday.
Upon her return, her parents and relatives scolded her. Eventually, they pressured her to go back to her in-laws' house. When she refused to return, her parents chained her with iron shackles.
Increasing child marriage is a collective failureUpazila Social Services Officer, Sushanta Bala, said: "We learned about the incident from the neighbours of the girl's village. After hearing about the incident, I contacted the local chairman and members through mobile and confirmed its authenticity. Through their help, the girl was freed from the shackles. Later on Sunday afternoon, her parents were summoned to the social services office. There, they admitted that due to poverty, they had married off their daughter and sent her to her in-laws. When she returned home, they insisted she go back. But as she steadfastly refused, they shackled her. They also acknowledged that what they did was wrong.”
"If such an incident recurs, stringent legal actions will be taken against them. A bond was also taken from them with the main condition being that the girl cannot be sent to her in-laws' house until she turns 18 years old. Until she reaches that age, her husband can not visit her, she can not be stopped from continuing her education, and no form of abuse should be inflicted upon her. Moreover, various other conditions were set in the bond, which they agreed to follow with follow-ups to be done by social services and local representatives."
Baghdha Union Parishad Chairman Aminul Islam Babul Bhatti said: "Upon learning about the incident, I immediately went to the house and freed the girl from the shackles. At that time, her parents were also scolded. Due to being a poor family, they could not afford to provide three meals a day and support her education, so they married her off at a young age and sent her to her in-laws. Later, this was also communicated to them by social services. The child's parents were then sent to the social services office. They have indicated that they will follow the directives given there. I will also follow up on this matter from my end."
