Introduction
In much of the developing world. Adolescent and child marriage continues to be a strong social norm, particularly for girls. Early female marriage is associated with a number of poor social and physical outcomes for young women and their offspring. On average, girls who marry as adolescents attain lower schooling levels, have lower social status in their husband’s families, report less reproductive control and suffer higher rates of mortality and domestic violence. In Bangladesh, many Bangladeshi girls are married soon after puberty, partly to free their parents from an economic burden and partly to protect the girls’ sexual purity. Where a girl’s family is very poor or she has lost her parents, she may be married as a third or fourth wife to a much older man, to fulfill the role of sexual and domestic servant. It is estimated that about 51 percent of Bangladeshi girls are married by age 18.
Customs surrounding marriage, including the desirable age and the way in which a spouse is selected, depend on a society’s view of the family – its role, structure, pattern of life, and the individual and collective responsibilities of its members. Early marriage is one way to ensure that a wife is protected, or placed firmly under male control; that she is submissive to her husband and works hard for her in-laws’ household; that the children she bears are legitimate, and that bonds of affection between couples do not undermine the family unit.
In addition to negative social and physical consequences of early marriage, larger social consequences of early marriage were also identified including higher population growth, more rapid spread of disease, and a higher incidence of orphans. As a result of these patterns, early marriage is an issue of significant concern to policy-makers and human rights advocates. Governments in developing countries face increasing pressure to eradicate the practice with legal sanctions against parents who marry daughters before a standard age of consent. Proponents of “child protection” and age of consent laws argue that forcing parents to delay marriage will increase female educational attainment and reproductive control and decrease incidence of domestic violence. For the same reason, social programs such as education scholarships for girls increasingly contain program rules excluding girls who marry young in an effort to discourage the practice.
Research Problems
1. What are the reasons for early marriage in Bangladesh?
2. What are the negative effects of early marriage to women?
3. What are the negative effects of early marriage to children?
4. What are the negative impacts of early marriage to the society.
5. How is the Bangladeshi Government dealing with the problem of early marriage?
Research Objectives
1. Identify the reasons for early marriage in Bangladesh.
2. Determine the negative effects of early marriage to women.
3. Identify the negative effects of early marriage to children.
4. Determine the negative impacts of early marriage to the society.
5. Identify the ways by which the Bangladeshi Government is dealing with the problem of early marriage.
Methodology
Data will be drawn from the most current Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in Bangladesh.
A survey questionnaire will be designed to be disseminated to the respondents. Survey research can be described simply as a means of gathering information, usually through self-report using questionnaires or interviews. In Research 1, the survey method was used to examine relationships between variables (Hutchinson, 2004). The survey method is popular among social researchers because of its utility in countless research situations. Surveys are used for diverse purposes. Another strength of the survey method is its applicability in situations where direct manipulation of variables is unethical (Hutchinson, 2004). With an appropriate sample, surveys may aim at representation and provide generalized results. Surveys are relatively easy to administer and need not require any fieldwork. Surveys may also be repeated in the future or in different settings to allow comparisons to be made. Lastly, with a good response rate, surveys can provide a lot of data relatively quickly.
The survey questionnaire will be given to teenage girls in a poor rural area in Bangladesh who are already married. The questionnaire will ask respondents about their demographic characteristics, reasons for marrying young and their experiences in the household. Health, information about their use of antenatal and delivery care will also be studied. The samples that will be analyzed in this study will be restricted to 15 to 19 year old married women.
0 comments:
Post a Comment