Bangladesh
Girls Not Brides Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Alliance to End Child Marriage was launched in September 2013 and became an official Girls Not Brides National Partnership in July 2014. Girls Not Brides Bangladesh has over 25 members, ranging from small grassroots organisations to country offices of larger INGOs.
Girls Not Brides Bangladesh at a planning meeting in February 2017. Photo credit: Girls Not Brides Bangladesh.
Successes
Girls Not Brides Bangladesh was part of the technical committee involved in reviewing the rules of the 2017 Child Marriage Restraint Act. It continues to lobby the government for the proper implementation of the Act and to ensure that a special provision allowing child marriage in ‘special cases’ is not misused to force victims of sexual abuse or pregnant rape victims to marry their abusers, for example. Girls Not Brides Bangladesh is also working to raise public awareness of the Act around the country.
[Being a] National Partnership helps when working on a collective issue; we get invited because we are part of a global partnership. That adds value to our work as people realise that we are not working in isolation.
Tasnuva Zaman, Plan International Bangladesh, secretariat of Girls Not Brides Bangladesh.
Girls Not Brides Bangladesh has a strong youth component and members have held workshops to support young activists to carry out advocacy and campaigning on child marriage. It is also carrying out budget analysis and advocacy to ensure increased spending on programmes relating to child marriage.
Structure
Girls Not Brides Bangladesh has a steering committee and a secretariat that is coordinated by CARE Bangladesh.