Day 8

Educating 25 parents in Bangladesh against child marriage

When children become brides

Child marriage in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a country of records. With 156 million inhabitants, it is the most densely populated country in the world. On average, there are as many people living per square kilometer as in the inner cities of major cities in Germany. The largest rivers on the Indian subcontinent, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, flow through Bangladesh. In 2014, Bangladesh entered the Guinness Book of Records with the largest national flag, displayed by thousands of people. There are also sad records. The capital Dhaka has been in second place in the ranking of major cities with the lowest quality of life in the world for years. Bangladesh is also way ahead when it comes to early marriage of girls: more than 65% of girls are married when they are underage, some as young as 10 years old. Only Afghanistan and Niger paint a sadder picture.

need

Educating the village population about the harmful consequences of child marriage

activity

Information sessions by staff of the NGO MATI for parents, political and religious decision-makers, and school classes

Measurable performance

Number of people who were able to attend the information sessions to raise awareness.

Result

Measurable decline in child marriages

Systemically relevant impact

The right of girls to education should become firmly established in the minds of the village population. Decision-makers in the village should get involved in the issue. Domestic violence should be addressed and more often lead to legal consequences.

background

Bangladesh has the third highest child marriage rate in the world. More than 65% of girls are married well before their 18th birthday. This is due to a combination of poverty-related and social factors. In Bangladesh, 75% of the population lives from agriculture, most are landless and practice subsistence farming on rented land. 35% suffer from chronic hunger.
Women are not held in high esteem in Bengali society. Daughters are considered a "lost investment" because they move into the husband's family after marriage. So when parents invest in their daughters' schooling or education, in their eyes the in-laws benefit. In families with many children and scarce resources it is therefore economically logical to give priority to the sons' education, because ideally they will stay with their parents, start a family there and help support them in their old age. In reality this calculation often works less and less, because many sons move to the big cities in search of better living and working conditions and leave their social care obligations for their parents behind. Usually it is the daughters who are still somewhere in
live close by and take care of their parents. Another issue is the dowry practice. Since poor families continue to demand a dowry from the girl’s family, parents often have to
go into debt to be able to pay them. The younger the girl, the higher her "value" is, as she is in the prime of her physical development. Therefore, dowry demands are significantly lower than for older girls. Added to this is the societal view of female sexuality. Fathers and husbands determine the female body. Parents choose the husband, a wife has no right of physical self-determination. A young girl who does not wait until her parents have chosen a husband, but instead establishes relationships with the opposite sex on her own, no matter how innocent they are, tarnishes her family's honor in the eyes of society. This could, for example, significantly reduce the marriage chances of other sisters and drive up the cost of the dowry. As soon as a young girl reaches puberty, society sees the "dangerous" time for the family, and in order to prevent damage to her honor, the potential problem is solved by marrying young girls as quickly as possible so that their sexuality takes place in a socially sanctioned space. Here, families are often subjected to massive social pressure from neighboring families and religious authorities.

The good deed

Education is urgently needed. Parents must know what child marriage means for a girl psychologically and physically, and what long-term health, social and economic consequences it has for everyone involved. Parents only see the advantage of having one less eater at the table, but often the husband sends the girl back to her parents after a while, with the baby in his arms, because a new wife brings him a new dowry. Child marriage is prohibited by law. Religious authorities and political elites often support the practice, but the police do not intervene. Women have no value in the eyes of society. These elites must be involved in order to socially ostracize child marriage. Educational scholarships can prevent school dropouts, and children in educated families do not marry off.