Prevent child marriage: Speaker

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DHAKA, May 3, 2018 (BSS) – Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury today urged all to come forward to prevent child marriage and build girls as skilled human resource.

“Child marriage is a social stigma,” she said while addressing the South Asia Parliamentarian Platform for Children at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban here.

The South Asia Parliamentarian Platform for Children was held in the capital on Wednesday and Thursday aiming to strengthen opportunities for children in the first two decades of their lives.

Parliamentarians from various South Asian countries attended a regional meeting, hosted by UNICEF, to discuss the prospects for further investment in early childhood and adolescent years.

The Speaker informed the visiting parliamentarians of the activities of ‘Bangladesh Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (BAPPD) Project’.

Dr Shirin, also chairperson of the BAPPD project, said parliamentarians have been playing a significant role in creating awareness among people about the adverse consequence of child marriage.

During the meeting, two documentaries on the Bangladesh National Parliament and child marriage were screened.

Later, the parliamentarians visited the House, South Plaza and important establishments, and they appreciated Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban’s architectural design.

Deputy Speaker M Fazle Rabbi Miah, Whips M Atiur Rahman Atiq and Shahiduzzaman Sarker, Senior Secretary Dr Abdur Rob Hawladar, UNICEF South Asia Regional Director Jane Gough, Deputy Regional Director Philip Corrie and Director of SAARC Social Affairs Rishfa Rashed were, among others, present.