Speakers at a roundtable discussion on Saturday underscored the need for girls’ education, dissemination of information regarding reproductive health, enforcement of laws to prevent early marriage and commitment to action for combating adolescent pregnancy as such girls are
the most vulnerable group in society.Around 25 per cent of the population are adolescents in the country and about 65 per cent of all women get married before the legal age of 18 years. Around 30 per cent of the adolescents aged between 15 and 19 years become pregnant, experts said.
The observation came at a roundtable on “Adolescent Pregnancy: Call for Action”, which was jointly organised by BRAC and The Independent at the conference room of BEL Tower in the city.
Mahbubul Alam, Editor of The Independent and a former adviser to the caretaker government, said in his inaugural speech, “If the young girls get married before adolescence, it will be harmful for them both physically and psychologically, and they will become a burden on society.”
“Though we have achieved success in reducing mother and child mortality, as well as morbidity — one of the millennium development goals — but we still need a comprehensive approach to combat it together,” he added.
Former adviser to the caretaker government Dhiraj Kumar Nath, director (Information, Education and Motivation – IEM) and line director (Information, Education and Communication – IEC) of the directorate of family planning Ganesh Chandra Sarker, vice chancellor of Begum Rokeya University Prof. AKM Nurun Nabi, vice-chancellor of Eastern University Prof. Nurul Islam, vice-chancellor of Presidency University Prof. Muhammad Mahboob Ali, Dhaka University professor Dr Barkat-e-Khuda, Editor of The Stethoscope, Dr Masudur Rahman Prince, director of health population and nutrition programme, BRAC, Dr Kaosar Afsana, chief of party, NGO Health Service Delivery Project (NHSDP), Bangladesh, Dr Halida H Akhter, reproductive health specialist Dr Momena Khatun, director, country project, Plan International, Bangladesh, Dr Samina Chowdhury, associate scientist, Centre for Population, Urbanization and Climate Change (CPUCC), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), Dr Selina Amin, medical doctors Dr Quamrun Nahar and Dr. Riffat Lucy, adviser on health and population, Department for International Development (DFID), Dr. Shehlina Ahmed, actor Mamunur Rashid and actress Rokeya Prachi, among others, also spoke on the occasion.
Dr Morseda Chowdhury, programme coordinator, health, population and nutrition programme of BRAC, presented a keynote paper, in which she noted that adolescent pregnancies are most common among poor and less educated girls and those living in rural areas.
Early marriage is one of the reasons why girls leave the educational system before boys in societies where their rights are not secured and where social norms undervalue girls’ education, she observed.
She added that babies born to adolescent mothers are more likely to be of low birth weight and at an increased risk of infant mortality. About delaying marriage, pregnancy and birth spacing, she suggested that marriage be delayed till 20 years, and the first pregnancy and pregnancy interval be deferred.
About legal and policy issues related to adolescents in the country, she said there is a lack of enforcement of the laws for addressing the issue.
“If we delay child marriage and early births for one million girls, Bangladesh could potentially add USD 69 billion to the national income over these girls’ lifetimes. So we must invest in girls to empower them,” Dr Morseda Chowdhury added.
Dr Barkat-e-Khuda gave an insightful analysis of adolescent reproductive health and rights in South Asian countries, elaborating the country situation with facts and figures. He said a number of initiatives need to be taken to address adolescent pregnancies and early marriages in the country.
“Education can play a significant role in this regard. If girls are given education, their marriages are delayed, which ultimately help reduce pregnancies. Even women can be given microcredit in this regard to empower them so that they can take decisions on their own,” he said.
“If any adolescent girl gets married, her school stipend should be stopped and relevant laws should be strictly enforced,” he said. He emphasised the need to take actionable steps to address early marriage and early pregnancy issues.
Dhiraj Kumar Nath said the laws and policies should not be only on paper; rather, their enforcement was necessary to combat early marriages.
“The rate of adolescent pregnancy is higher among the uneducated and poor segments of society. The involvement of local bodies and a media campaign can be effective in combating early marriage,” he observed.
Ganesh Chandra Sarker emphasised that a holistic approach is needed both from the government and from non-government organizations to ensure social safety for adolescent girls. He also suggested that unnecessary complaints should not be made against the government for its failure in many ways.
“We must realise the existing reality of society, such as why early marriages are taking place. We must find out the root cause and by following this root cause, if we start working on it, the problems relating to child marriage and adolescent pregnancy can be prevented,” he said.
“Adolescent pregnancy is a burning issue for society. Policymakers and decision-makers have to take substantive steps to address the issue,” he added.
Dr Kaosar Afsana said, “The rate of early marriages is now stagnating. Though there has been some improvement, still about 50 per cent of pregnancies occur before 18 years, which cause serious problems for the girls, both physically and mentally.”
“Socio-economic conditions should be changed to improve the condition of adolescent girls as they are the future of the country. If we invest in them, they would give us returns in future,” she observed.
Dr Halida H Akhter said the lack of enforcement of laws is primarily responsible for the failure to combat early marriage and there should be zero tolerance, with all resisting marriages before 18 years of age.
“If girls are imparted education and given stipends, they remain in the educational institutions. This delays the chances of early marriage. Pragmatic programmes have to be undertaken to delay the first pregnancy and the interval between the next one,” she added.
Shahnoor Wahid, Managing Editor of The Independent, asked the experts if there has been any change in the mindset of the girls working in the garments factories, who come from the rural areas, about taking decisions related to their lives, such as the number of children and birth spacing.
Dr Nurun Nabi said, “The girls working in garments factories still cannot take any decisions in their respective families even though they are financially self-sufficient, which empowers them a bit.” He also observed that no significant change has occurred in the lives of women garments workers, as their husbands still decide the number of babies they should have.
-With The Independent input