USAID, Winrock hold discussion on child marriage, gender-based violence

USAID’s Bangladesh Counter Trafficking-in-Person project (BC/TIP), implemented by Winrock International, has organised a discussion on child marriage and gender-based violence.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 15 Oct 2020, 02:24 AM
Updated : 15 Oct 2020, 02:24 AM

They held the event on Tuesday to mark the International Day of the Girl Child 2020 with the theme “My Voice, Our Equal Future”. It was organised online due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Abul Hossain, project director of Multi Sectoral Program on Violence Against Women (MSPVAW) under the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, attended the event as the chief guest, while Derrick S Brown, mission Director of USAID Bangladesh, was the special guest of the discussion moderated by HM Nazrul Islam, program team lead of the BC/TIP project.

Hossain underscored the need for raising awareness among parents and grandparents to effectively address the issue of child marriage, as in most cases these groups are mainly responsible for wedding off minor girls and in some cases boys.

He also highlighted some of the initiatives taken by the government to stop child marriage. These include the passage of the law to prevent child marriage, making the National Plan of Action, introduction of hotlines, establishment of child marriage prevention committees, and mobile courts.

Pointing out that child marriage and gender-based violence are very much interrelated, he further stressed the need for concerted efforts by all concerned to fight against child marriage and gender-based violence.

Brown said, "We are concerned that the rate of gender-based violence is extremely high in Bangladesh, and we are seeing the news of rape in the papers every day. Gender-based violence impacts the victim’s ability to reach her full potential, but it also affects all social sectors and hampers economic growth."

He also highlighted some of the initiatives taken by the BC/TIP program like the training of 4,486 duty bearers, including 656 marriage registrars who play a vital role in reducing child marriage.

Liesbeth Zonneveld, chief of party of the BC/TIP project, welcomed the guests and participants.

Nazrul Islam made a presentation on a study carried out by Catalyzer Limited on behalf of the BC/TIP project and shared the findings of the study that revealed the situation and reasons of child marriage and also the knowledge level of stakeholders on the laws related to child marriage and its practice.

Noreen Khan, gender and development specialist at UNICEF and M Rabiul Islam, deputy director at Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission, also spoke as guest speakers.

Among others, representatives from the USAID, INCIDIN Bangladesh, Manusher Jonno Foundation and Terre des hommes – Netherlands attended the event and shared their views on the issues.

In her closing remarks, Zonneveld pointed out that there were similarities between the activities of different organisations and those of the BC/TIP in stopping child marriage and gender-based violence. She emphasised strengthening coordination among these organisations to address these issues.