Kids' rights promoter in contention

Shirin Shila, 16, of a remote village of Chirirbandar upazila under the district has been nominated for contention for the prestigious International Children's Peace Prize in recognition of her extraordinary efforts to protect the children's rights in her locality.

KidsRights Foundation, a Netherlands-based organisation, announced the matter on Tuesday, said Asma Anwar, programme coordinator of Plan International.

Shirin, the youngest of five daughters and one son of Nurol Amin of Ranipur village of Chirirbandar, is an intermediate second year student of Ichhamati Degree College in the upazila.

The girl has continued working for protecting the children's rights in her surrounding areas since 2008. She prevented quite a few child marriages, worked for ensuring primary education for many children and helped many people to realise the importance of using proper sanitation system, said Asma Anwar.

"Shirin has been nominated as one of the 120 people who are in contention for the international peace prize this year her outstanding contributions in ensuring child rights," she said.

"I am really very blessed and happy for being nominated for contention for such a prestigious international award. This will encourage me to do more for the people of my society," she said, giving reaction after hearing the news.

A letter conveying the message of nomination arrived on Tuesday night through an email signed by Marc Dullaert, chairman of KidsRights and initiator of the International Children's Peace Prize.