Early marriage forces girls to drop out of schools: Study
Staff Correspondent
Adolescent girls drop out of schools in Bangladesh mainly because of early marriage. They also have limited mobility and social network, according to a baseline study.Parents want to marry off their young daughters for social reputation, safety and security of girls, it said. The study pointed out that early marriage and growing demands for dowry undermine the status of rural adolescent girls. Three out of every four marriages take place with dowry, it added. Conducted by Sajeda Amin, senior associate, Policy Research Division, Population Council, New York, the study was presented at a seminar at Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) in the city yesterday. Dr Shahabuddin chaired the seminar while researchers, NGO representatives and social workers took part in the discussion. The discussants said the demand for dowry was related to complexion of the bride as fair-skinned girls could be married off with less amount of dowry. Sometimes delayed marriage led to the rise in dowry demand, they observed. They also said population policy should encourage young men and women to delay marriage to contain population growth. The three-year study titled 'An intervention study for adolescent girls in rural Bangladesh' was conducted on 5,100 boys and girls aged between 13 and 22.
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