Laila Khondkar

News of child marriage is unfortunately quite common in Bangladesh. But the report about 50 young girls from the same school being married off during the pandemic is something that hits you especially hard.

Salim (not his real name) is 42 years old and works in a private company in Dhaka. Recently, he needed to go to an office to have a meeting, and felt intense anxiety. This happens to him whenever he has to meet any man alone.

Social media is flooded with children’s photos, quotes and videos that are being posted by their parents.

During the Covid-19 lockdowns, men have been performing more care work than any other time in recent history.

Shishurai Shobis a voluntary initiative, which aims to contribute to creating a child sensitive society by developing awareness and capacity of all concerned adults across all socio-economic groups.

Recently, many parents in Bangladesh are expressing concerns about the behavioural changes of their children and feeling worried about the impacts of Covid-19 related restrictions on their health and wellbeing.

Accor-ding to a report published in March 2021 by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 30 percent of children have experienced various forms of online harassment during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Firdausi Qadri of Icddr,b, Dr Salma Sultana of Model Livestock Advance-ment Foundation and Prof Samia Subrina of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)—three Bangladeshi women scientists have recently made us proud.

"Is it OK to hit a child at least once in their lifetime?”—asked a Bangladeshi parent in a post on social media.

Frontline healthcare workers, community mobilisers, caregivers, mothers working from home while supporting children with online classes—women of Bangladesh and all other parts of the world have been facing the Covid-19 pandemic with immense strength, courage, patience, and resilience.

Today’s children will be known as the “Covid Generation”. Their health, nutrition, education, protection and overall wellbeing will be profoundly influenced by the impacts of the global pandemic.

In August 2020, a Bangladeshi television channel aired a news story on the excessive use of smartphone use by children under the age of 5, and its negative consequences.

According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019 by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF, 89 percent of children (1-14 years) in Bangladesh experienced violent discipline in the month before the survey was conducted.

“Girls do not look smart, they are pretty”—said a five-year-old Bangladeshi boy after a comment by the mother that his sister (three years old) was looking “smart”.

From the char of Lalmonirhat to a slum in Khulna, I have met many adolescent girls across Bangladesh who are united in their resolve to continue education, who make extraordinary efforts to go to schools.

According to the Global Status Report on Preventing Violence Against Children 2020, each year, half of the world’s children (approximately one billion) are affected by physical, sexual or psychological violence, suffering injuries, disabilities and death.

On March 12, 2020, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine organised a discussion titled “Discrimination and Racism During Coronavirus Outbreak”.

All over the world, we are seeing more and more girls raising their voice for their rights. From stopping child marriages to standing up against gender-based violence and demanding action to address the climate emergency—girls are refusing to be ignored.

A report titled, “Keeping the Promise: Ending Violence Against Children by 2030” has recently been presented by Najat Maalla M’jid, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence Against Children, at a side event, “Putting Children at the Heart of the 2030 Agenda” during the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

While working in Liberia during 2013-2014, I along with the team had an opportunity to support the government in implementing their deinstitutionalisation policy.