Kurigram can be a role model for other districts in bringing down child marriage  rate but more coordinated efforts are required from all level of stakeholders, said discussants at a round table discussion on Saturday.

The round table titled “Child Marriage Free Kurigram, A Journey Towards A Dream” was organised at the conference room of Kurigram Deputy Commissioner in Kurigram.

The round table was organised by international development organisation Plan International Bangladesh and its local partner RDRS Bangladesh under the project “Building Better Future for Girls (BBFG)” with the support of Sweden Embassy in Bangladesh.

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Addressing the discussion as the Chief Guest, the Deputy Commissioner Md. Rezaul Karim said  Kurigram’s District Action Plan implementation is an example for other districts of the country to reduce the curse of child marriage.

“To bring the child marriage rate to zero, we all are working together, and are committed to continue the effort in future. We have identified all the relevant stakeholders, engage them with the implementation process which is a big initiative. This made us able to reach to the community level. We are working to bring a positive change in the society through engaging different stakeholders, activating different committees, forming youth forums, strengthening cultural activities.”

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Md Nazrul Islam, Project Manager of BBFG, presented the key note article where he mentioned, in 2017, the child marriage rate of Kurigram was 65pc. In a mid-time assessment in 2019, the rate was found to be decreased to 46.8 pc. “We have developed a tool to collect child marriage related information on monthly basis. From this, we can see that in 2021, the average child marriage incidents per month of the district is 31 against the same of 94 in 2019.”

He also added Bangladesh aims to be child marriage free by 2041. Proper implementation of law and changing the mindset of the community people is required to resolve the existing challenge.

Additional District Police Super Utpal Ray said marrying girls off without any registration is common scenario at the root level. “Police are actively working to prevent child marriage cases. We are working swiftly as soon as we get any call through the help line. “

Deputy Director of the Local Government department Zilufa Sultana said “Marrying girls off at an early age creates awful risks into a girl’s life. We need to change the mindsets, and work towards solving the challenges. Identifying girls at risk of child marriage can be a great initiative. Solid database supports everyone in preventing child marriage to a great extent. “

Among others, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Rajarhat Nure Tasnim, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Chilmari Md. Mahbubur Rahman, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Bhurungamari Md. Nurunnabi Chowdhury, Deputy manager of Kurigram Women Affairs Office Shahana Akter, President of Kurigram Press Club Md Ahsan Habib Nilu, Union Parishad Chairman Md Harun-ar Rashid were present as discussants.

BBFG project is working in nine upazilas, 3 municipalities and 73 union parishads of Kurigram. The project aimed to contribute to Kurigram district’s target of zero marriages of girls under 15, and one third reduction in marriages of girls under 18 by 2021.