Satkhira villagers raise voice against early marriage, dowry

The meeting on Early Marriage and Dowry was jointly organised by Amar Sonar Paribar (my golden family), a newly floated local social body and Rishilpi, an Italian NGO working against the social vices in the district.

Amar Sonar Poribar's Shamima Nasrin presided over the meeting while Rishilpi Director Enzo Falcone was the chief guest.

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Kamana Bairagi, Secretary of Amar Sonar Poribar; Program Animator of Rishilpi Mridula Rani; its AssistantCo-ordinator Altaf Hossain (Dev) and Nazma Khatun from among the villagers spoke at the meeting.

The programme also included a film show, drama, group discussion and a musical soiree highlighting bad affects of early marriage and dowry.

The programme created awareness among parents about early marriage and the need for educating girls.

Speakers at the meeting said, early marriage and dowry still prevail in the society because of very poor rate of literacy, particularly among girls.

They urged parents to send their daughters to school instead of setting their marriage at an early stage.

The main cause of violence against women is lack of proper female education, poverty and dependence on husbands, they said.

Though early marriage is punishable under law, it is increasing because of lack of education and corruption by a section of marriage registrars, who falsely show under-aged girls as above 18.

This has to be checked by the authorities, the speakers said.

They also called upon the educated section in the society to join the campaign against the social vices.

Enzo Falcone told the meeting that Rishilpi could provide educated girls with employment.

This correspondent talked to some parents at the meeting.

They said they would give their daughters proper education first and then think about their marriage. They said they could realise that early marriage and dowry are responsible for unhappy family life and violence against women.