As the coronavirus pandemic has forced school closures across Bangladesh for a year and a half, at least 50 girl students of a school have fallen victim to early marriage in Satkhira, according to a Bangla daily report.
Few of them are likely to return to school, Prothom Alo quoted Md Abdul Latif, headmaster of Alipur Adarsha Madhyamik Girls' School in Sadar upazila's Alipur village, as saying.
The schools across the country are set to reopen on Sunday.
A total of 66 girl students of Alipur Adarsha Madhyamik Girls' School have been married off on many excuses during the closure. Of them, at least 50 were early married off, according to the report that quoted the school authority, guardians and rights activists as saying.
District Education Officer SM Abdullah Mamun, however, could confirm only 25 cases of early marriages, according to the report. He, however, said reportedly that "This number must be much higher. I don't understand what the union early marriage prevention committee does!"
Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Fatema Tuz Zohra, quoting Alipur Union Parishad chairman, reportedly said early marriages have risen due to love affairs among children. However, it needs to be investigated as to whether the number of early marriages is so high.
According to her, a total of 49 early marriage incidents were prevented in the upazila from January to August this year.
Admitting though that early marriage could not have been prevented as much as they should have been, due to the pandemic, she was also quoted to have said she would call a meeting within a week to determine the actions to prevent early marriages.
Officially, Bangladesh has set a target of bringing marriages among girls of 15 years of old to zero in 2021.