In 2022 Islamic Relief ran a project to help combat child marriage in Bangladesh, which has one of the world’s highest rates. According to UNICEF, almost one in five girls are married before the age of 15, and 51 per cent of girls marry before their eighteenth birthday.

In Rangpur, we worked with parents, faith leaders and young people to educate them on girls’ rights and the harms of child marriage. The child protection committee we set up to identify and support children at risk and their families intervened to help 14-year-old Kabita. Learning that the girl was engaged to be married, members of the committee – local people trained to assist children at risk – met with her family to explain the dangers of child marriage and the laws prohibiting it.

Kabita accepted their invitation to join a girls’ group, in which she learned about the importance of education, sexual and reproductive health and the harm caused by early marriage. “I want to be independent and self-sufficient. Only then will I consider getting married because I will be in a much stronger position,” says Kabita, who is one of 300 girls the project has reached so far.

Her mother, Manjuara, credits our awareness-raising sessions with helping her decide to call off the marriage: “Many thanks to Islamic Relief for opening my eyes. Their efforts have moved me away from the wrong path and I pray that Kabita will now have a brighter future ahead.