Rajarhat declared as child marriage free upazila
Rajarhat upazila in Kurigram district has been primarily declared as free of child marriage.
State Minister of Primary and Mass Education Zakir Hossain declared the upazila free of child marrage at an event held in the Helipad premises of the upazila on Monday, said a press release.
The upazila administration of Rajarhat organised the event jointly with international development organization, Plan International Bangladesh, as part of the ongoing project "Building Better Future for Girls (BBFG)".
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The project is funded by the Embassy of Sweden and implemented by the non-profit organisation RDRS Bangladesh.
Minister Zakir Hossain said, "With this announcement a milestone has been created in Rajarhat upazila and started a new journey towards women empowerment. We have to work together to continue this development."
Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Rajarhat Nure Tasnim shared information on the current context of child marriage in Rajarhat.
According to the press release, 601 families, whose girls are at the risk of child marriage, have been provided support in coordination with government and non-government organisations.
Hundreds of participants at the event displayed a "Red Card" symbolising refusal to child marriage and also took an oath to prevent the social issue.
Muhammad Rezaul Karim, deputy commissioner of Kurigram district, said, "Previously, we achieved indicators as per the guideline of Government Innovation Unit (GIU) of Bangladesh and received certificate from the chairman of union parishad related to the declaration of a child marriage free union. Finally, we got the declaration today."
Member of Parliament of Kurigram 2, Ponir Uddin Ahmed, Project Manager of BBFG Nazrul Islam Chowdhury and Head of Development Programme of RDRS Abdul Samad were present the event among others.
Plan International Bangladesh has been implementing the BBFG project in Kurigram district since 2017 with the district administration to achieve the goal by 2021.
Earlier, Bhurungamari upazila of the district has also been declared child marriage free.
