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Women in Payrabond and nearby villages in Mithapukur now reel under the scourge of early marriage, dowry, fatwa and repression.

Thirty-three per cent female adolescents are married against their will, seven per cent become victims of fatwa and 22 per cent are subjected to torture by males, according to a survey conducted in the area by Begum Rockeya Smriti Sangha.

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The voluntary organization based at Payerabond revealed its report at a women's gathering at Mithapukur on Wednesday to protest these vices.

Hundreds of women and adolescent girls joined the day-long programme styled Kishorimela (adolescents' fair), organised by BRAC. It was held at Begum Rockeya Auditorium.

They brought out a procession at Mithapukur upazila headquarters, chanting slogans against dowry, early marriage and women oppression.

The programme included a discussion meeting in the afternoon, addressed by, among others, local parliament member Mohammed Solaiman Alam Fakir, Mithapukur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mokbul Hossen and BRAC official Harunur Rashid.

The lawmaker said early marriage is a curse. About seven per cent married adolescents in the district die during childbirth, he said.

Other speakers also urged women to rise against early marriage, dowry and violence against women.

But the programme concluded without any plan on how to check these.