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Joyce, Allison. “The “Saddest Bride I Have Ever Seen”: Child Marriage Is as Popular as Ever in Bangladesh,” The Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/28/the-saddest-bride-i-have-ever-seen-child-marrige-is-as-popular-as-ever-in-bangladesh/.

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15 year old Akhtar is married to a man 10 years her senior. Child marriage is illegal in BD yet many families bribe govt. officials to increase the age of their daughters to marry them off.

There is a daunting look on the young bride's face. While Bengali brides are typically shy on their wedding days, the context behind Aktar's forced marriage and the impact of the shadows foreshadow the gloomy future ahead where she is expected to give up her education and be a homemaker.

Common causes of child marriage include- poverty, social pressure, tradition, protection from sexual harassment and assault and Child Marriage Restraint Act (The Business Standard).

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Bunch, Riley. “Incentive Program Reduces Child Marriage in Bangladesh,” The Borgen Project, 28 July 2017, borgenproject.org/incentive-program-reduces-child-marriage-in-bangladesh/.

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Fighting Culture, Tradition & the Patriarchy

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Fighting Culture, Tradition & the Patriarchy

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Worldwide 650 million girls are married before 18. In BD, 41.6% of girls are married before 18 and that trend is rising.

Here are 3 generations of women---grandmother, mother and daughter. The first 2 were married off as children but the little girl was allowed to go to school, thus ending the cycle of child marriage in their family.

Efforts to end this practice consist of advocating for girls education, raising awareness amongst parents on how harmful it is for their daughters. Girls in rural backgrounds face higher risk of being married underage (United Nations).

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United Nations. “Bangladesh Government Steps up Efforts to End Child Marriage, reaching over 6 million Nationwide, Supported by UNFPA and UNICEF | United Nations in Bangladesh.” Bangladesh.un.org, 6 June 2024, bangladesh.un.org/en/270869-bangladesh-government-steps-efforts-end-child-marriage-reaching-over-6-million-nationwide.

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1. Death from birth complications due to physical immaturity (Fan and Koski)

2. Likely to face intimate partner violence

3. Higher HIV risk

4. Obstetric fistula

5. Postpartum depression + maternal & infant mortality

6. Anemia, stunting and malnutrition

The cover of this UNICER-UNWOMEN report on child marriage in Bangladesh, uses light-dark contrast to give readers the illusion of choice---a choice these young girls aren't afforded---to step into the light of empowerment or walk into the darkness of dependency.

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Shams, Nadia Afrin. “Letting Girls Grow up to Be Who They Want to Be,” BRAC, 26 Nov. 2014, blog.brac.net/letting-girls-grow-up-to-be-who-they-want-to-be/.

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Most Bangladeshi families are more willing to pay marriage dowries than send their daughters to school as they believe they will settle into their in-laws' families and be financially dependent on them instead (Aktar). 70% of Bangladeshi girls dropout of school after marriage.

The lack of negative space and subsequent emphasis on positive space whereby the schoolgirls are all dressed brightly and sitting in the front row of class, is a symbolism of hope for Bangladeshi girls. It is more worthwhile to educate girls than marry them off and through greater advocacy and education programs, eradicating this patriarchal malpractice will be possible.

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Human Rights Watch. “Map Showing Risk of Hazard due to Natural Disasters Including Cyclone, Flood, Erosion or Drought for Populations Living in Bangladesh.,” Quartz, 9 June 2015, qz.com/423766/climate-change-is-forcing-bangladeshi-girls-into-child-marriage.

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Climate change is predicted to exacerbate child marriage; as more land is lost to rising sea levels and more crops are damaged due to saltwater intrusion, families rush to marry off their daughters before becoming climate migrants. Moreover, climate change will worsen gender-based violence of other forms as well (Hossain and Rahaman).

Interestingly, the areas with higher prevalence for child marriage were correlated with areas with higher sea level rise. These maps thus help the audience realize the ripple effects of climate change on seemingly unrelated issues.

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Joyce, Allison. “The “Saddest Bride I Have Ever Seen”: Child Marriage Is as Popular as Ever in Bangladesh,” The Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/28/the-saddest-bride-i-have-ever-seen-child-marrige-is-as-popular-as-ever-in-bangladesh/.

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Shima was married at 14 years old. There is a streak of violence underlining child marriage since the groom and the groom's side often try to extort more money from the bride's family after the initial dowry. Often they use physical violence to pressure the bride's family. Thus, this practice is more economic than cultural at this rate---parallelling Audre Lorde's Cancer Journals.

In this photo, Shima's longing gaze towards the caged bird reflects the tragedy in her life. Like the bird, she too is trapped in a cage where she has had future opportunities robbed from her in order to be a wife and a mother.

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Me on my way to a cousin's wedding (she was 27 and I was 18)

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I remember how my grandfather reported the case of a 13 year old girl being married to a 30 year old man, to the police---effectively saving that village-girl from a life of bondage. Yet that was still one girl among millions awaiting the same fate.

The reason I chose to investigate this topic and look closely at why child marriage is still a problem in a country expected to move up the development ladder, is because no nation can be complete without the emancipation and empowerment of all its citzens. Dystopian news such as girls as young as 8 being married off to 8/10 girls being married off by the time they reach puberty, serve as reminders that deep-rooted patriarchal, backward beliefs still exist. While mere science and logic cannot combat these fallacies, progress has been made to ramp up efforts in family planning, women's education and general awareness programs to reduce the prevalence of this social disease in Bangladesh.

The reason I've selected these 6 photos as part of my exhibit is not because they are from verified sources but because of the stories they care. Some bitter, some factual, some sweet, these photographs paint child marriage in a 3D manner rather than a black and white issue, bringing forth the voices of the young brides, the perspectives of their parents and the looming threat of climate change in upturning their fates.