Just think about a girl going to school with joy and smile, and on the next day she finds herself coiled in a bright red saree, waiting for her groom to arrive. This is not an uncommon sight in our society. We are debating on the legal age of marriage for girls whether it should be 16 or 18, the reality is women are the only victim of early marriage.
According to National Survey on Child Marriage, 64 per cent girls are married off before they reach eighteen years of age, which ought to be the legal age of marriage for girls. According to Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS2011), average age of marriage for women is only 15.8 years. Consequently, these poor women suffer from early pregnancy. About half of Bangladeshi women (49 per cent) have given birth before reaching 18, while 70 per cent have given birth by the age of 20 (BDHS2011). With the high number of early marriage and early pregnancy, use of family planning methods is still low among the married adolescents aged 15-19 years. BDHS 2011 also indicates that, only about half (47.1 per cent) of them is using any method to prevent unwanted and early pregnancy.
Early marriage and consequent early pregnancy imply a greater risk on women and girls' health including possible threats of domestic violence. A girl who got married in her early age can have severe health problems like miscarriage, complication in delivery and can suffer from fistula, which can make her life miserable anywhere, not to mention chances of having more children in her reproductive life. Alongside physical health, mental health of the women is also vulnerable as they face domestic violence as well as the curse of dowry.
This is not something that we do not know or understand, it is observed in many cases that despite having adequate knowledge and right perception, bringing change in practices are the main challenge to improve the overall condition of women and girls. To get rid of these problems will depend on empowering women and girls to make decisions and educating them with proper knowledge. It requires developing awareness among women and adolescent girls at the community level to access them to the resources to prevent early marriage as well as saving them from early pregnancy.
Nevertheless, the sooner we can make a place that is safe for the women, the better it is for them to be able to change their lives. Let us focus on women's health.
The writer is Senior Assistant Coordinator, MNCH, ARH and Family Planning Unit, Health Services Department, 3/6,
Asad Avenue, Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207.
yesmin@eminence-bd.org
