10-year-old Sonia has been saved from marrying a 44-year old postmortem-worker
- BNWLA rescues 10-year-old Sonia from getting married to a 44-year-old man
A ten-year-old minor has been saved from marrying a 44-year-old man thanks to Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association.
A team of the association led by its Executive Director Salma Ali stopped the forced child marriage and rescued the girl Sonia Akhtar Rimi on Tuesday.
Class five student Sonia, daughter of day labourer Sobhan Payada and domestic worker Baby Begum, was being forced into child marriage.
A volunteer Lina Begum came to know about the marriage and informed the BNWLA, the organisation’s Barisal Coordinator Mashuk Kamal said.
BNWLA rushed to the spot at the Rasulpur area of the Barisal city and stopped the marriage, he said. “The girl has been taken under our care.”
Father Sobhan Peyada, father of a girl and son, confessed that he arranged a marriage for his daughter with Jamal Mia, 44, a casual worker at the postmortem section of Barisal’s Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital.
“We are a poor family. It is hard to life and feed four mouths in the family. We had no other way. We thought it will be a good future for her.”
Rescued victim Sonia said she did not want to marry now and wished to continue her education. “I want to become a teacher at a school.”
The groom Jamal Mia said his wife died a few days ago and he needed someone to care for his minor son. “I decided to marry for a second time without considering the age of the bride.”
Poverty and lack of awareness still drives people to organise child marriage, BNWLA Executive Director Salam Ali said. “We should all fight this voluntarily.”
A girl is subjected to child marriage, domestic violence and negligence during being raised up, she said.
Meanwhile, traumatised Sonia will now be sheltered at a BNWLA safe house in Dhaka and will undergo counseling to keep her dreams of becoming a teacher alive.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
