Bangladeshi winner of US Women of Courage Award recounts horror of child marriage attempt

Bangladeshi teenager Sharmin Akter, who has won the US International Women of Courage Award, has described how she ‘got her back against the wall’ due to coercion by her mother and a man who wanted to marry her.

Both her mother and the man have been jailed for four months in a case started by the girl.

The 15-year-old girl from Jhalakathi recounted the horror she had faced at a press conference in Dhaka on Wednesday.

“My mother wanted to marry me off forcefully. I was beaten up so much for not agreeing to the proposal that I got my back against the wall,” she said.

Sharmin said she was beaten up every day by her mother and the man.

“I was threatened with consequences if I filed a case. But I gathered courage to protest against the oppression,” she said.

She said her father did not know about the matter and her parents separated after she initiated the case.

The girl said the police did not initially want to register the case, saying it was a ‘family matter’, but later accepted it following a journalist’s request.

“I have to appear before court for the case until now. I will continue the case,” the teen said.

After the separation of her parents, she is now staying with her grandmother. Her father lives abroad. Her younger brother lives with her mother now.

“I don’t feel unsafe with my grandmother,” she said.

She received the award along with 12 others from US First Lady Melania Trump on Mar 29.

“I can’t imagine how great the honour is. And after getting the award, I felt I needed to become big. It's not an achievement for me alone, it's an achievement for my country, the girls of my country," she said.

She also said he was happy that the US First Lady hugged 'only her' at the awards ceremony.

"There is no law in the US to prevent child marriage. They only punish offenders for oppression. But we have laws. That's a positive side. Then why should we not put it to use?" she asked.

Sharmin, who took the SSC examinations from Rajapur Pilot Girls' High School this year, wants to work for girls by becoming a lawyer.

She urged the authorities to arrange counselling in schools to prevent child marriage.

She emphasised raising awareness among the parents and men to prevent such marriages.