The International Day of the Girl Child is commemorated annually on October 11 to address girls’ needs globally.
- Despite progress, girls face significant challenges in enjoying fundamental rights due to societal, cultural, and legal constraints.
- Governments have launched initiatives to promote girls’ empowerment and human rights, with visible improvements in school participation and public spaces.
- The Sustainable Development Goals aim to eliminate child marriage by 2030.
- Bangladesh has made progress in gender equality, but remains eighth globally in child marriage incidence.
- 51% of Bangladeshi young women were married in childhood (2019) and 40.9% before turning 18 (2022).
- Existing initiatives and laws, such as the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017, aim to combat child marriage.
- Research suggests education alone is insufficient; innovative approaches like SafePlus, focusing on youth empowerment and community-based interventions, are necessary.
- SafePlus empowers youth through leadership training, education on rights and remedies, and economic opportunity skills.
- Ending child marriage requires fresh thinking, community engagement, and youth-led initiatives.
- The practice is a barrier to national progress and a violation of individual rights.
- Renewed commitment to girls’ empowerment and self-determination is crucial for a more equitable future.
Source: The Daily Star
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 