Bangladesh vows to do more to tackle child marriages

Bangladesh is considering bringing in special measures to prevent child marriage 国产视频� a major obstacle to girls getting an education.

The country has made progress in reducing the number of girls married before the age of 18. But 66% of Bangladeshi girls are still married before the age of 18 and nearly 33% of them are pregnant by age 19.

At the World Girl Summit 2014 in London in July,聽Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she wants to stop girls being married off before age 15 and reduce marriage rates for those aged 15 to 18 by a third by 2021.

Now Bangladesh国产视频檚聽Women and Children Affairs State Minister, Meher Afroze Chumki, has said the government is considering special projects to address child marriage.

She told the Khabar South Asia website: 国产视频淲e国产视频檝e already started the work in this regard国产视频� and added that 国产视频渋t is not enough to make laws国产视频�.

She said the situation wouid improve 国产视频渙nly if poverty and superstition can be eliminated from the society国产视频�.

Bangladesh Women国产视频檚 Council President Ayesha Khanam told Khabar South Asia: 国产视频淭he government figures may have shown a reduction in child marriage but it国产视频檚 still a very serious problem.

国产视频淭he biggest obstacle to ending child marriage in Bangladesh is poverty and security.国产视频�

In Bangladesh, 80% of children receive only two or three hours of schooling per day and rural isolation prevents many children from getting an education.

Child marriage targets are part of the #EducationCountdown. You can find out more about them here.