<i>Courageous Aleya resists her early marriage</i>
A 13-year-old girl has saved herself from early marriage through sheer courage and intelligence.
Guardians of Aleya Aktar, daughter of Ansar Ali of Mohabbat Bajitpara village of Kachukata union in Nilphamari Sadar upazila, arranged her marriage with Safiqul Islam, 19, son of Altaf Hossain of Dakkhin Donduri village of the same union.
Friday night was scheduled for the marriage rituals.
Aleya, a class six student of a local high school, told her parents that she was unwilling to marry as she wanted to continue her study. But her parents ignored her opinion.
At the suggestion of marriage registrar Emdadul Haque, Aleya's relatives, with the help of a person at the union information centre, prepared a fake birth registration certificate showing Aleya to be of marriageable age.
On the scheduled night, the bridal party with the bridegroom came to Aleya's house for the marriage rituals. The marriage register also reached there. They were entertained with delicious dishes and everything was set to start the ceremony.
Determined to resist the marriage, Aleya Aktar along with a girl of the village ran to the house of local union parishad (UP) Chairman Abdur Rouf half a kilometre away and requested him to intervene to stop the early marriage.
Abdur Rouf along with UP members Safiar Rahman, Rabiul Islam and Mohsin Ali and a few local elites went to the spot at dead of night.
They explained to Aleya's parents about the bad effects of early marriage and reminded them the related law. Convinced, Aleya's parents moved away from their decision to marry off their daughter.
As some members of the bridal party could not accept the matter and refused to leave the venue, locals became agitated and chased them away from the village.
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