12-yr-old girl foils her marriage

An adolescent madrasa student escaped marriage using her intelligence and courage in Kishoreganj upazila of the district yesterday.

Mahbuba Akhter, 12, daughter of Mahbubar Hossen and Molly Begum of Putimari Kacharipara village, is a student of class V at Kishoreganj Madinatul Ulam Mahmudia Female Madrasa.

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Sources said Mahbuba learned that she was secretly set to get married at her maternal grandfather's house last night. The groom, one Hafizar Rahman, 24, son of Alam Hossen of Bherveri village in the upazila, is a rickshaw-puller in Dhaka.

She immediately fled from the house and went straight to the official residence of the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO).

She met the UNO's wife and burst into tears, fervently urging her to save her from child marriage. Hearing her cries, she took the girl to her husband's office at the upazila parishad premises.

UNO SM Mehdi Hasan heard everything and instantly called police to raid the girl's house.

Asked about the wedding, her father Mahbubar Hossen admitted his preparation for her marriage. The UNO also raided the house of the bridegroom and detained his father, who also admitted everything.

The UNO fined both of them Tk 1,000 each and took a written statement from them that they would never arrange Mahbuba's marriage before she was 18. He also directed her parents to take care of her studies.