A new alliance – The Girls Not Brides Bangladesh Alliance – was formed with the hope to end child marriage in Bangladesh on Thursday. The alliance was formally launched at BRAC Centre with its first national round table discussion. The 13-member alliance, led by BRAC, includes prominent organisations such as BLAST, CARE Bangladesh, Family Planning Association of Bangladesh, icddr,b, Marie Stops Bangladesh, National Girl Child Advocacy Forum, Plan Bangladesh, Population Council, White Ribbon Campaign, World Vision, and Youth Forum Promoting Access to Development. Girls Not Brides: the Global Partnership to End Child Marriage is an international network of many development organisations working to end child marriage. At present, there are 286 members in 53 countries in the network. Concerned about the often dangerous effects of child marriage, organisations in Bangladesh decided to strengthen the international network by forming the Girls Not Brides Bangladesh Alliance. BRAC’s Vice chairperson Ahmed Mustaqur Raza Chowdhury said during the launching ceremony that child marriage is one of the biggest social problems in Bangladesh, and a major violation of human rights for both young girls and boys. Sultana Kamal, former advisor of the caretaker government of Bangladesh and executive director of Ain O Shalish Kendra said, “If we work to abolish child marriage one village at a time, it is possible to eradicate it completely from our society.” –UNB
