Highlighting the aspects of substantial and sustainable reduction of child marriage, speakers at a discussion mentioned community engagement can be the best ways of preventing child marriage.
Besides, collective efforts of all government and non-government entities concerned have become crucial to combat child marriage and child pregnancy as it's the precondition for improvement of child and maternal health.
Public representatives and marriage registrars can play pivotal roles to attain the cherished goal in this regard.
They came up with the observation while addressing a participatory meeting with public representatives and marriage registrar in the city yesterday discussing and devising ways and means on how to eradicate child marriage.
The Association for Community Development (ACD) organized the meeting at its office conference hall supported by UNICEF.
Deputy Director of the Department of Women Affairs Shobnom Shirin addressed the meeting as chief guest, while Ward Councilor of Rajshahi City Corporation Umme Shalma spoke as special guest with Marriage Registrar Khoibar Hossain in the chair. ACD Programme Manager Monirul Islam moderated the discussion.
Shobnom Shirin 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 child marriage.
Terming child marriage as gross violation of human rights she also said it is vital to increase awareness regarding the negative impacts of early marriage with the help of the mass media.
She said responsive support from the community, especially local administration, public representatives, teachers, parents and influential leaders, has become indispensable to ensure adolescent-friendly reproductive health services for reducing child marriage and child pregnancy substantially and sustainable.
Ensuring equal rights on education, training, science and technology is also important to women empowerment.
Overall national development could be possible when the children coming from the poor and underprivileged families will be educated and ensure all other fundamental rights they deserve, she added.
Physical and mental development of children could be possible when they were protected from violence and deprivation.