Coordinated efforts to eradicate child marriage stressed

RAJSHAHI, July 25 (BSS): Integrated efforts of all the government and non-government organizations including the teachers community can be the best way of eradicating child marriage.
Utmost emphasis should be given on preventing the child marriage to supplement the government efforts of achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Development activists and teachers came up with the observation while addressing a consultation meeting with the representatives of teachers associations on the issue here today.
Association for Community Development (ACD), a rights-based organisation, hosted the meeting at its conference hall in association with UNICEF discussing and devising ways and means on how to attain a desired yield in this field.
District Education Officer Nasir Uddin and Editor of the Daily Sonar Desh Akbarul Hassan Millat addressed the meeting as resource persons, while ACD Executive Director Salima Sarwar was in the chair.
Teachers' leaders Mujibur Rahman Sarker and Ashraf Uddin Chowdhury also disseminated their expertise on the issue.
ACD Project Manager Monirul Islam gave an illustration on the present child marriage scenario along with its causes and demerits and Child Marriage Prevention Law- 2017 during his multimedia presentation.
Nasir Uddin said the present government under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been implementing diversified programmes to free the society from the child marriage.
He said responsive support from the community, especially teachers, public representatives, parents and influential leaders has become indispensable to reduce the child marriage.
Simultaneously, all the organisations working in this field should come forward and work together to combat child marriage and child pregnancy as it's the precondition for improvement of child and maternal health.
Terming child marriage as gross violation of human rights Akbarul Hassan Millat said it is vital to increase awareness regarding the negative impacts of child marriage with the help of the mass media.