British minister in Dhaka to check on child marriage

Junior British minister for international development Lynne Featherstone has arrived in Dhaka on her first Bangladesh visit.

The UK government says she will see for herself the kind of action "being taken to end child marriage and prevent violence against women and girls ”.

The visit followed the London Girl Summit in July where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vowed to end child as well as forced marriage.

Featherstone will speak at a follow-up conference in Dhaka on Monday and encourage survivors of violence to break their silence.

The British High Commission in Dhaka says she will also see how the UK government can support efforts to bring an end to child marriage in Bangladesh.

“I am looking forward to meeting with those working to end child marriage and violence against women and girls,” she was quoted as saying on her arrival on Sunday evening in a media statement.

“I will be encouraging everyone to get involved to help Bangladesh meet its Girl Summit commitments.”

Featherstone was appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development on Sep 5, 2012.

She is the Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green.

Violence against women and girls overseas is one of her areas of priorities.

A study in 2013 shows with 65 percent child marriage, Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage in South Asia and this rate is the fourth highest worldwide.

Prime Minister Hasina pledged at the Girl Summit in London that her country would end marriage under the age of 15 by 2021 and under 18 by 2041, and reduce the number of girls getting married between 15 and 18 by more than one third by 2021.

Featherstone will meet Finance Minister AMA Muhith, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki,mState Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and Speaker of the Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury.

The minister will also visit a number of UK aid-funded projects that support women’s economic empowerment and social development.

As the largest bilateral grant donor in Bangladesh, the UK government supports Bangladesh’s different projects related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).