GKS Prevention of Child Marriage MAY B TOMORROW: Prevention of Child Marriage
The issue of child marriage is steeped in several multi-dimensional social, economic, cultural and community related aspects and the practice is driven by these main factors: gender inequality, poverty, negative traditional or religious practices, failure to enforce law, conflicts, disasters and emergencies. There are some reasons and factors for child marriage in the community. Poverty is the main factor because due to this parents cannot afford the education and cost of the family members. On that case if they find a well enough house and husband they make decisions to marry their girls. Population of thefamily is another reason because of poverty parents cannot afford the cost of the family. They want to marry their girls first and try to handover their responsibility.  Education is another reason of child marriage. The social stigma is that parents do not want to invest on girl education; it seems that it#s a burden to educate the girls rather than marrythem.
Social insecurity and eve teasing is another reason for child marriage. Adolescent boys and girls attracts with each other in times of puberty. They try to make conversation with each other but the social and cultural norms do not allow this. Parents think that girls can spoil the reputation ofthe family from that sense they arrange child marriage.
Lack of awareness on the risk of early marriage both parents and adolescents on adolescent periods are another reason for child marriage. Adolescent have no education of reproductive and sexual health rightsas well as parents are also not aware of the responsibilities. In the Asia subcontinent growth of a girl is problem. When a girl enters in the menstrual cycle parents think that they are able to be a mother. Such social norms are indicators of child marriage in Bangladesh. Dowry is another backdrop of child marriage and there is high demand of young brides in the society. The idea works that if the age of the bride is lower than the dowry is become lower. Due to child marriage the rate of polygamous marriage and divorce rate is increasing in the society.
Girls who marry early childhood are left from education, skills, knowledge, awareness and lose their societal status and make their families vulnerable to an intergenerational cycle of poverty that hinders the development of theircommunities. Child marriage is a barrier to make a better and healthy society. It makes an ill, unhealthy and unskillful  generation. Several researches reveal the reason and the effects of child marriage. Evidence shows that the prevalence of child marriage is at the highest in Bangladesh. But there is positive correlation between location (Urban/Rural) and child marriage. The rate of child marriage among all women aged 20-24 years was 54% in urban areas and 71% in rural areas. Due to basis on all evidence and analysis GKS want to work on child marriage protection plan in the rural area. GKS work for ensuring a better life of the adolescent girls andwomen, adolescent empowerment and making leadership among them. It also works for raising awareness in the family and community to stop child marriage.
Objectives
1. Ending child marriage women will enjoy the better life and empowered   through life skill education and raising awareness in the families and communities
2. Children#s voice will be raised to protect child marriage
3. Child marriage will be stopped through sensitizing the law enforcement agency, local government, community leaders,  politicians, journalists and NGOs
Expected Outputs
Output 1: Educating the families and communities, especially father on the risk of child marriage
Output 2: Raising children#s voice to stop child marriage
Output 3: Preventing child marriage through law enforcement agencies, local Government, community leaders and politicians to execute the law
Output 4: Invest in life skill education and sexual reproductive health rights for adolescent empowerment.
Output 5: Initiating Advocacy and campaign through national alliance engaging media, journalists and NGOs