Girls Get Equal-GGE Project Learning-Sharing Seminar

A seminar titled Girls Get Equal-GGE Project Learning-Sharing was held in Bangladesh.

The seminar was held in Dhaka on December 3 (Tuesday). Incidentally, the Girls Get Equal project has done multifaceted work to prevent child marriage and ensure women's rights. This project has been working tirelessly to build tolerance towards women in the project area and acquire skills on sexual and reproductive health rights and above all to prevent child marriage.

The chief guest, Marian Rabe Knevelsrud, Deputy Chief of Mission for Political and Economic Development Cooperation of NORAD, said, 'Child marriage is a violation of women's rights around the world. The GGE project has done extraordinary work and I believe that child marriage is preventable, not inevitable. We all need to work together to reduce child marriage. We need to be committed to reducing child marriage and preventing gender-based violence.'

Dr. Md. Manjur Hossain, Deputy Director, Program Manager (A and RH), Department of Family Planning, said, “The GGE project has been doing a great job in preventing child marriage. It is very important to emphasize on removing taboos on menstrual health management and we seek cooperation from the government and other stakeholders to prevent prejudices around menstruation.”

This was followed by a question and answer session, where representatives of government and international donor agencies shared their views and suggested solutions. Youth participants shared their experiences. A youth named Akhinur said, “Through the GGE project, I became aware of my rights and now I conduct awareness activities in my area. I have gained confidence through this project.”

At the event, S. M. Shahjahan, Deputy Director (Course Accreditation), Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), said, “We need to digitize the information so that it can reach the youth at large. This will help in informing them about economic empowerment of youth and online training modules. If the government needs help, we will cooperate here. The GGE project has done a great job and I hope that future Plan International Bangladesh initiatives will include digitalization, including information and TVET online programs.

Finally, INGO representatives and officials from partner organizations shared their experiences and discussed in detail the widespread human rights violations that child marriage is and how it negatively impacts the education, health and well-being of young women and girls. The event concluded with a discussion on how all stakeholders can work together to prevent child marriage.