PM blames Jamaat for obstructing fight against child marriage
UNB, London :
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said her government is addressing child marriage problem in a holistic manner leading it from the front against significant opposition from religion-based political parties such as Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
This party also opposed Bangladesh’s National Women Development Policy 2011 and threatened to scrap it, she said while addressing a High-Level Session of the first-ever Girl Summit 2014 at Walworth Academy here.
“Child marriage certainly deserves our focused attention, but it can’ t be treated in isolation. In Bangladesh, we, therefore, are addressing the issue in a holistic manner which helped us achieve a sustained decline the last two decades,” she added.
“Second is strong legislations. We have had in place a Child Marriage Restraint Act dating back to 1929. We’re currently updating the law to provide harsher penalties and prosecution,” she said.
Stressing that a bold and secular political commitment is extremely important in tackling a socially sensitive challenge like child marriage, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said poverty reduction, ensuring education and creating job opportunities can naturally reduce child marriage.
“Basically, what I feel that if we can reduce poverty and ensure education and job opportunities, then naturally the child marriage will get reduced. This is our opinion and we’ve taken all these steps to ensure that our girls should be educated properly and then they should go for jobs so that they can take their own decisions,” she said.
Moderated by broadcaster Zeinab Badawi, the session was also addressed by two other panelists First Lady of Burkina Faso Chantal Compaore and Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan. British Prime Minister David Cameron also made remarks at the session.
Hasina also revealed her government’s plans to take free education and stipends for adolescent girls up to the graduation level which she has been currently administering for 1,33,000 girls from the Prime Minister’s Special Fund, a trust fund for education that requires sustained funding.
“From that fund we have started providing stipends to girls. Of course we’ll give to boys also, but gradually we’ll increase these up to the master’s level so that our girls can get education and parents don’t need to give any money and that responsibility we’ve taken also,” she said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said her government is addressing child marriage problem in a holistic manner leading it from the front against significant opposition from religion-based political parties such as Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
This party also opposed Bangladesh’s National Women Development Policy 2011 and threatened to scrap it, she said while addressing a High-Level Session of the first-ever Girl Summit 2014 at Walworth Academy here.
“Child marriage certainly deserves our focused attention, but it can’ t be treated in isolation. In Bangladesh, we, therefore, are addressing the issue in a holistic manner which helped us achieve a sustained decline the last two decades,” she added.
“Second is strong legislations. We have had in place a Child Marriage Restraint Act dating back to 1929. We’re currently updating the law to provide harsher penalties and prosecution,” she said.
Stressing that a bold and secular political commitment is extremely important in tackling a socially sensitive challenge like child marriage, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said poverty reduction, ensuring education and creating job opportunities can naturally reduce child marriage.
“Basically, what I feel that if we can reduce poverty and ensure education and job opportunities, then naturally the child marriage will get reduced. This is our opinion and we’ve taken all these steps to ensure that our girls should be educated properly and then they should go for jobs so that they can take their own decisions,” she said.
Moderated by broadcaster Zeinab Badawi, the session was also addressed by two other panelists First Lady of Burkina Faso Chantal Compaore and Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan. British Prime Minister David Cameron also made remarks at the session.
Hasina also revealed her government’s plans to take free education and stipends for adolescent girls up to the graduation level which she has been currently administering for 1,33,000 girls from the Prime Minister’s Special Fund, a trust fund for education that requires sustained funding.
“From that fund we have started providing stipends to girls. Of course we’ll give to boys also, but gradually we’ll increase these up to the master’s level so that our girls can get education and parents don’t need to give any money and that responsibility we’ve taken also,” she said.
