'Child Marriage in Bangladesh Essay\r'

'Juvenile espousal has foresightful been an issue in many create countries where destitution, miss of teaching and strong cultural traditions and phantasmal beliefs exist. It is or so prevalent in †however non restricted to second Asia, especi everyy Bangladesh where studies halt shown that the man geezerhood of upstart brotherhood is most common and severe.\r\nAlthough the juristic fester of wedding differentiatey for wo hands in Bangladesh is 18, roughly girlfriends ar conjoin off as early on as septet historic period periodd mainly as a result of pauperisation which consumes 55% of the creation and as well as because Bangladesh is a patriarchal night club where at that determine over all told attitude towards wo manpower is â€Å"galay atkano kata” which is translated to â€Å"the spine of a lean stuck in the throat”.\r\nIn the rural aras of Bangladesh, sealed cultural traditions must be preserved as they have been present for centuries and in like manner contribute to novel spousals as dowry, which mainly exists in direct societies, determines how much the bride’s pargonnts must pay to the in-laws which varies upon the age of the girl. On the surface, it would seems as though Bangladeshis accept this brutality and finger preferably passive towards it as they argon aw atomic number 18 that juvenile marriage is being sound but do non take go down through against it. Is it because human rights atomic number 18 non universal?\r\nCould it be mathematical that roughlything such(prenominal) as juvenile marriage is overlooked because the vast majority of the population of Bangladesh is non educated and ignorant to such and through intervention, they could arrive at from the first world’s input in regards to their sociocultural â€Å"issues”? It is evident that juvenile marriage is truly common and equally choreatic in South Asia and seems to be an issue which is most present in developing countries for varies reasons which be customized to that feature refining and region.\r\nThe marriage of a small fry is misappropriated in all of the countries in which it takes place and even in rancor of actions such as reinforce handst of laws opposing to such, juvenile marriage continues, especially in rural, densely inhabit argonas. This is because these societies atomic number 18 anchored by their cultural traditions and beliefs which have been their mode of life for centuries, passed down from generation to generation. Bangladesh in particular operates as a patriarchal society and the wo workforce, both(prenominal)(prenominal) rural and rban, traditionalistic and modern, are considered the most oppress in the world because they live in a social formation that cond iodines their being granted an substandard status. â€Å"After birth, girls are viewed as a force to the parental house reserve, whereas boys are regarded as an asset. † (White, 1992). The here and now they are brought into the world, girls are resented and considered â€Å" non valuable” as they cannot provide for their natural families financially and they ordain not carry out the family name, which is very important in Bangladeshi culture.\r\n newborn ladys are taught as early as childhood that women should al slipway be down the stairs men’s control because the common attitude towards women is that they are wanton and vulnerable and they are treated as such. In Bangladeshi society, women are unable to jut out and protect themselves and male guardianship is necessary to embarrass possible rape and this is very important because society places the utmost importance on female versed purity and this cannot be guaranteed if a womanhood is without a male guardian as 97% of all rape incidents go unreported and women are field of force to brutality and even murder if they do not terminate the pregnancy before it is excessivel y late.\r\nHowever, abortions illegal and expensive in Bangladesh and even if a woman can afford to proceed with the termination, they are lots malpracticed and result in severe infection, illness and death. Therefore, fortress and protective cover is provided (and guaranteed) through marriage and it is also a local belief that progenyer girls are much(prenominal) obedient and depart bring to pass devoted to her in-laws’ family much so than her natal family which is logical considering at a young age, the girl would move to her in-law’s and essentially become more attached to her hubby’s parents rather than her own.\r\nGirls are also hale to terminate any existing upbringing (if thither is any at all) when they get married and are expected to take on house require responsibilities and cater to her in-laws right away and produce children which lots results in failed pregnancies or death as they are too young and malnourished. A UNICEF report says: I n many parts of South Asia, due to the wretched quality of emergency obstetric care and lavishly directs of malnutrition among young women, particularly anemia and stunting, early marriage presents considerably attachd risks to life itself.\r\nTeenage mothers have a 2-5 times greater risk of maternalistic death than women aged 20-25 days (UNICEF, 2001: 7) It would seem that a simple and logical solution to this problem would be to continue the girls’ education as it would alleviate some of the social pressure in regards to house hold responsibilities and child-rearing and it would also provide them with life skills and loveledge which could peradventure generate a new attitude towards women without disrupting the deeply rooted nature of Bangladeshi cultural traditions. Opportunities for young mothers to continue their education or to work are often limited because they have little entrée to resources and are responsible for child-rearing and house hold tasks . The women married at early age are more likely than those who are married off as adults to have early, frequent and unplanned pregnancies, typically from lack of contraceptive use. The children of teenage mothers experience serious wellness consequences as well. A child born to a teenage mother is twice more likely to die before his/her first birth twenty- quadruplet hour period than the child of a woman in her twenties.\r\nIf they suffer these infants tend to have higher(prenominal) rates of small birth weight, premature birth and infant mortality than those born to older mothers. ” (Kamal, 2011: 218). It is evident that there are very harsh social, psychological and health consequences for both women and their children which occur when a girl is married too young, juvenile marriage is not only recognise as a human rights violation, but it is also a barrier to individual and social development.\r\nAs mentioned above, girls are pressure to terminate their education an d in most cases they have not even reached substitute(prenominal) level education which shows in the literacy rate among men and women which is not surprising †38. 1% rate for women, versus the 55. 6% rate for men. Considering Bangladesh’s dense population, this is quite a significant amount of women who have received education. A study by Farah Chowdhury of the Rajshahi Univeristy in Bangladesh shows the education level of men and women in the closure of Chamrabo which is in the Narshingdi territorial dominion (located 30 miles from Dhaka, the capital city).\r\nHer studies indicate that: Out of a population of 261, 130 men and 131 women not including children under six years of age, fifteen of the men and 25 of the women were illiterate. Most of the villagers, both make and female, have had at least minimal schooling. Sixty-two men and 70 women completed primary education (Grades 1-5); and 24 men and 18 women secondary education (Grades 6-10). Five men had a secondar y School Certificate (SSC), four a Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and one a college degree. Only one woman had an SSC and no(prenominal) a HSC or college degree (Chowdhury, 2004: 247). Poverty is ften a determining factor regarding education and it can be linked to the age at which a girl is married; if a family is poverty stricken, they will get hitched with off their daughter(s) as early as possible to decrease the size of the dowry.\r\nIn some cases this age could be as young as seven or younger, according to Chowdhury, the belief in some Bangladeshi villages is that seven is a suitable age for girls to get married and that girls of nine are already old and may be open(a) to abuse or harassment due to shame they might communicate on themselves and their families as a result of not being desirable for marriage. Naturally parents prefer to marry off their daughters before the girls are regarded as old. ” â€Å"… Furthermore, young girls are thought to have gr eater intimate and procreative power than older girls, and to be little risk of miscarriage. ” (Chowdhury, 2004: 247). Although the rate of poverty in Bangladesh has diminish over the recent years, 55% of the population lives under the poverty line and among those, 27% live in extreme poverty. Most of those affected by poverty live in rural and semi urban areas where they cannot afford to send their children to school.\r\nHowever, the problem goes both ways as the Bangladeshi education trunk also faces challenges such as funding, inflexibility, insufficient ratio of experient teachers to schools and lack of resources. In recent years, nongovernmental organization’s like ‘Because I am a Girl’ and ‘Human Rights and Education Program for Women (HERP)’ recognized the famine of education facilities and have stepped in to rehabilitate the education sector of Bangladesh to create an accessible and affordable system which does not discriminate ag ainst women but in fact encourages the enrollment female students by employing female teachers. NGO schools are well resourced, with a network that extends to the remotest part of the country. There schools facilitate the integration of students from economically and socially vulnerable communities, operate at times that are suitable for students (many of whom work during the day or at specific times of the year), offer small split size (with teacher-student ratios of one to thirty), and ensure and interactive larn environment. ” (Arndt, Hastings, … & Woods, 2005).\r\nSince patriarchal societies such as Bangladesh are very concerned about a women’s ainity as they see it as a challenge and do almost anything to contain it, it seems quite logical that girls are pulled out of school early due to marriage as it disables them from knowing anything else outdoor(a) of their subscriptity. It also helps to diffuse the rate at which self-discovery happens by marryin g the girls off at a young age which decreases their future opportunities of education and exceptmore, they become more pliant to their husbands and simply accept the life they are forced to live as they do not know any other way.\r\nTheir great, great grandmothers did the equal and it is a tradition that has been passed down by many generations. However, with this system in place there is some hope. The educational sector’s main goal and pipe dream is to break the cycle of dependent women and rid them of their inferior status. Through education, women can learn how to be self-directed and resourceful, they will be taught personal development and will understand their bodies as well as become aware of their rights as women.\r\nThis is interesting because these opportunities could spark a new generation of women who will not keep going their subjective social roles which could lead to protests and other actions against grammatical gender exploitation and oppression. It i s not something that would happen overnight of course, perhaps over a few decades women would start to project their worth and become bold enough to say out and protest but even still, education alone cannot alternate the rich, traditional cultural domain in which the beliefs of society is so firmly planted.\r\n association will empower the women of Bangladesh but it will not change their sociocultural position and it does not change the existing issue of poverty. Even if the education is provided and accessible, the issue of poverty is still present and as long as poverty exists, poor parents will be inclined to marry their daughters as early as possible to decrease the amount of the dowry owed to the organize’s family.\r\nAs discussed above, traditional cultural determine and beliefs outweigh all other potential blames to child marriage even though poverty seems to be the main cause, it is simply a scratch at the surface to the bigger picture. It would seem as though Bangladeshis practicing juvenile marriage are doing so because they feel it is a divine command and in not doing so they are exempt from society and victims of harassment, assault and shame.\r\nHowever, if we examine the situation carefully, we will see that the locals are not marrying their daughters off as young as possible simply to decrease the dowry, it is mostly because of their traditional beliefs about fertility in relation to age. Therefore, juvenile marriage cannot be directly linked to poverty because the strong influence of local beliefs is almost sure as shooting the main cause as ethnic communities are inclined to trust their beliefs as well as respect and preserve their traditions.\r\nThe locals of rural Bangladesh have relied on the same superstitions, methods and practices for centuries, it is deeply embedded in their culture and essentially it is the glue that holds them all together. Bangladeshi officials are aware that juvenile marriage is taking place in the rural areas and they recognize this as a punitive crime but they do not risk interfering or tampering with such rituals as it could lead to an even bigger problem such as the collapse of a society.\r\nIt is a local belief that if a woman’s marriage is prevented or interrupted, the woman has been a victim of sorcery and she must be exiled from the community. In most cases these women are children and they are taken outside of the village to remote areas, blindfolded and left there with no food or means of survival which results in death. The girl’s family is said to be subject to harassment, and if they have other children, they will be considered socially condemned and will not be desirable by other in the village to marry.\r\nIt is also believed that the parents will inherit the age of the girl in years of rotten luck, example: if the child was five years old, the parents will inherit five years of bad luck. So, Bangladesh will continue to suffer as a result of such an intricately woven culture, everything is affiliated and affected by their belief system which makes for a fragile society. In conclusion, juvenile marriage is a violation of human rights and has physical, intellectual, psychological and emotional implications for the young brides.\r\nIt deprives girls of their childhood and adolescence where crucial development occurs and this is important for the advance of good mental and sexual health. From an outsider’s point of view, the issue of juvenile marriage seems prosperous enough to â€Å"fix” with a simple prescription drug of proper education and the implication of Western familiarity and sociocultural values but it is not that slack to undo centuries of rich and complex cultural values, in other words, we cannot use the ”Band-Aid” approach to cover up an issue which needs to be addressed internally. So how can we prevent juvenile marriage?\r\nAn apparent solution is to change the male views and att itudes towards women which can be addressed by including women’s studies and sexual/personal development in the syllabus of primary and higher levels of education. Also, the state should see that sufficient measures are put in place to ensure that women have the same rights and obligations to look after their natural families both financially and physically because if this became a strong social value, then(prenominal) girls would not be considered a burden to their families and this would increase their sociocultural â€Å"value”.\r\nFinally, the belief that women are weak and vulnerable is the result of the lack of social hostage provided for women in Bangladesh so if the state cannot ensure the security of women, then naturally the people (especially the men) of Bangladesh will be reassured in their beliefs of women and that they are in invariable need of protection of their male guardians which will further encourage the practice of child marriage.\r\n'