Today celebrations and demonstrations have been happening across Bangladesh to promote the potential and value of girls. In Bangladesh baby girls are often a disapointment and burden to families, they are among the world’s most vulnerable and suffer from one of the highest rates of child marriage.

Yet girls hold a hope for the future of Bangladesh, as improving their status, health and education will raise up a generation of women who can reduce child malnutrition, improve family health and the country’s overall prosperity. Girl child day is a national strategy that seeks to end discrimination against girls in society, a vision that we work towards all year round.

Protecting young girls from marriage
In some communities where we work, girls as young as 9 years old are married. Besides threats to their health and the fact that it is illegal, many young brides are at greater risk of physical and emotional abuse. Their opportunity for education is cut short, which can have a dramatic impact, as each year that a girl stays in secondary school increases her future income by 15-25%.

Our teenage girl support groups are an effective tool to increase awareness of the issue, promoting staying in school, and offering skills training so young girls can contribute financially to their families. Through these groups and our adult groups we are working to stop child marriages and promise a better future for young women in Bangladesh.

Srity’s story:
Empowered to have a voice
Srity, the daughter of a poor street sweeper lived in a cramped and crowded slum community. When she turned 16 her parents decided that it was time for her to get married. In their small Hindu community it was customary for girls much younger than Srity to be married, and the social pressure for Srity to follow suit was mounting.

However, Srity and her friends had learnt about the damaging consequences of young mariages in one of our support groups, and together, with the help of their group mentor stood up to whole of Srity’s family and helped Srity to share why she didn’t want to get married and the negative consequences it could have. Click here to read more

Thank you
Thank you for supporting our Women of Action initiative and helping thousands of girls and women to discover their potential and lift themselves out of poverty.
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Thanks,
Charlene

www.womenofaction.co.uk
Releasing potential, overcoming poverty

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Women of Action is an initiative of Food for the Hungry, a Christian relief and development charity.
47 Burgess Wood Road South, Beaconsfield, Bucks, HP9 1EL | charity no: 328273