Marriage registration eradicates social curses in shoal areas

It was quite unthinkable even a decade ago that the extremely poor char (shoal) people living on the Brahmaputra basin could think about marriage registration or society without social curses like child marriage and dowry.

But now, the char dwellers have been avoiding child marriage, dowry and polygamy and arranging marriage of their sons and daughters with proper registration at right ages following growing social awareness among them.

Besides, the char people, who were married some 10, 15, 30 years back or even earlier, have now been registering their marriage.

The success has been achieved following comprehensive motivational activities being conducted by different NGOs as implementing organisations of the chars livelihood programme (CLP) since 2004 in the riverine char areas.

According to sources, UKaid through the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Australian government through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) have been funding implementation of the CLP activities.

The comprehensive CLP activities are aimed eradicate extreme poverty of the char families through income generation activities to improve their livelihoods, life standards and change socioeconomic conditions to lead better life.

Livelihoods Coordinator of CLP Dr Mahbub Alam said the multi-dimensional CLP activities were being implementedsuccessfully by different NGOs in the riverine char islands of ten northwestern riverine districts to achieve the goals.

He said more than 5.17 lakh people were being benefited now under the CLP phase-I during 2004-2010 and phase-II during 2010-2016 periods to improve livelihoods as well as life standards.

The things are changing fast following socioeconomic development in recent years helping the char people to overcome curses like child marriage, dowry and polygamy and arranging marriage of their children now with proper registration, he said.

Head of Programme Coordination Monjusree Saha of RDRS Bangladesh said the char people lived in utter poverty for decades, but they were now achieving socioeconomic uplift and eradicating social curses to lead meaningful life.

Couples -- Ramjan Ali, 77, and Ayesha, 65; Abul Hossain, 67, and Feroza, 56; and Majibar Rahman, 66, and Khatun, 57 -- of Khamar Banspatari char village in Chilmari upazila of Kurigram registered marriage at a ceremony after many years of wedding.

Like them four other couples said they felt themselves as worthy citizens by registering their marriage even after 10 to 22 years of wedding.

"Now, we understand about a better future, but earlier not," they said and vowed to stop marriage with dowry, child marriage or marriage without registration in building a happy and prosperous society through ensuring planned families.

Similarly, 15 couples registered their marriages at another recent ceremony in remote Arazi Kanua char village in Kawnia upazila of Rangpur after 20 to 35 years of beginning conjugal life.

Chairman of local Tepamadhupur union under Kawnia upazila Alim Uddin in the ceremony said the example had created positive impact among the char people.