- The document discusses an intervention program aimed at preventing child marriages in rural areas of Bangladesh. - The program would target high poverty rural districts and engage community participation to address the root causes of child marriage such as poverty, gender inequality, and lack of opportunities for girls' education. - The goals are to achieve a sustainable reduction of child marriage in Bangladesh through changing social norms and practices, ensuring equal access to education, and raising the legal marriage age for girls to 18 years.

1. Intervention to prevent childhood
marriages in rural areas of Bangladesh
A proposal for Sponsor Engagement & Funding
Mohammad Alamgir
Student ID 100986556
June 2015

2. • Imagine you are an 11 year girl, poor, naive and playful.
• You love your family and spend most of your day playing in the field
with other children from the village.
• The game you love the most is fishing with your hand in that little
pond behind your house.
• You do not know the world outside of yours: education, luxury,
fashion, technology, etc.
Imagine for a second…

3. • Your father is a steadfast believer that as a girl your sole responsibility
is to get married, cook for your husband, maintain the house and
make children.
• He is not supposed to take your burden.
• He struck a deal with his friends down the road to get you married to
his friend’s son.
• This will relieve your father of a loan he owed this friend.
• The day arrives, you are wedded off to a 24 year old man and sent
away from your father’s house.
Imagine for a second…- cntd.

4. • You do not know you just got married.
• Next, you are beaten frequently by your husband and his family
members because you do not know how to cook.
• You have no idea why you must give your body to your husband every
night.
• You are in constant pain and still endure beating.
• Every evening you sit at the porch and watch other children fish with
their hands in a small pond.
Imagine for a second…- cntd.

5. • Few months later you are pregnant and scared.
• Almost a year later you are at your home, crying and giving birth.
• The pain is immense and there is no one to help.
• You hear the first cry of your child as it is born and then….
Imagine for a second…- cntd.

7. Executive Summary
• Child Marriage is a global issue. Children in Bangladesh are one of the worst sufferers where 29%
of children mostly girls are married below the age of 15years.
• Active project in flight but more needed to mitigate
• Intervention to prevent childhood marriages in rural areas of Bangladesh- Target Population-
Start intervention at high poverty rural districts in Bangladesh first and then expand to less
poverty areas.
• Purpose- Intervention with community participation to tackle issue at its root. Provide
Educational and work opportunities for children and families, improve health leading to better
living conditions.
• Goal and objectives - 5 year Time Frame. Achieve Sustainable Reduction of childhood marriage in
rural areas of Bangladesh at no huge cost.
• Funding- Prominent Global organizational support required to give this intervention credibility
and to cover costs- WHO/ CARE/ CIDA/UNICEF

8. • Child marriage is a globally recognized problem and about 700 million
women alive today were married as children.
• Child marriage is defined as a formal marriage or informal union
before the age of 18 – a reality for both boys and girls.
• Girls are affected the most.
• Bangladesh, a South Asian country, is one of the countries where the
problem is at its worst.
• Multiple global bodies including UNICF, ICRW and regional
independent organizations have studied the issue and published
exhaustive statistics and details on-going programs.
Background & Problem

9. Population
166M
(ranks 9th)
Size of Texas, USA
45M live below
poverty line
Ranks 23rd
for lowest literacy
rate
Children aged 5-14
engaged as laborer
7 million children unable to
develop full physical and mental
potential due to malnourishment
Data sources: Unicef.org | CIA.gov | BBS.gov.bd
Background & Problem - Quick view of Bangladesh

10. Background & Problem - Early Childhood Marriage Statistics

11. • Children are deprived of basic rights - long term prospects severely
compromised.
• Increased risk and occurrences of domestic violence (e.g., beating,
sexual abuse).
• Increased divorce rate and loss of early support (parents lose respect
at society and abandon/harm child).
• Growth in uneducated population – children remain stunned in basic
education and miss alternative life outcomes due to education lack..
• Spread of diseases (e.g., HIV/AIDS).
• Increased mortality from pregnancy complications.
Background & Problem - Drawbacks of Early Childhood Marriage

12. • Deep rooted beliefs, handed down generations via religious
interpretations or pure traditions, that the supposed role of the
woman is to procreate in life and serve her husband.
• Girls are considered a parental liability, bringing shame and dishonor
if not chosen quickly by potential grooms (e.g., poor looks).
• Unmarried girls are perceived as vulnerable sexual prey.
• Traded as compensation for debt owed by poor families.
• Forced into marriage by groom’s side of family, often with more
power and belonging to a higher level in society.
• Lack of awareness about its outlaw status in most parts of the world.
Background & Problem – Contributing Factors

13. • An intervention program is needed to reduce child marriage incidents and
to lay out foundational capabilities in Bangladesh that will lead to or
accelerate a reduction in the number of incidents of child marriage.
• Overarching objectives of this intervention in conjunction with other
programs in the country will include:
• Pressing and highlighting on root causes of child marriage, including poverty, gender
inequality and discrimination, the low value placed on girls and violence against girls.
• Changing practices that discriminate against girls or create barriers to social and
economic opportunities for girls.
• Mandating equal access to primary and secondary education for both girls and boys;
• Urging the government to legislate a minimum age of marriage for girls to 18 years;
Project Description

14. Project Description – Target Population
• Start intervention at high poverty rural districts in Bangladesh first
and expand to lesser poverty areas – select a subset from a total of
544 rural districts.
• In each rural area engage and build a participatory community
consisting of 20 or more married couples with children for high yield.
• Intervention should primarily focus on gaining support from male
members of the family (father or son) that often have dominance
over familial decisions.
• Auxiliary support should be sought from village council elderman,
school teachers and youths over age of 18.

15. Project Description – Goals, Objectives, and Activities

16. Project Description – Impacts over time

17. Project Description – Complimentary to existing programs
• There are existing programs, campaigns and studies that deal with this issue and significant
amount of progress has been made.
• However the proposed intervention would work at a grass roots level with direct participation of
the community in question within a logical framework that can be progressively monitored.
• The outcomes from this intervention will further support and compliment any movement and
initiatives already in-flight:
• Plan International started the ‘Because I am Girl (BIAGG)’ campaign that continues to highlight how child
marriage prevents progress in child rights.
• The Asia Child Marriage Initiative (ACMI) acts to stop child marriages in action and to increase the mean age
of marriage from 15 to 18 years by working with the national government to strengthen online birth
registration.
• and enforcement of the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929.
• International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) and UNICF have concluded qualitative studies, gaining
valuable data on this important issue.

18. • Sponsor participation and funding contributions are required to support
the cost and effectiveness of the intervention.
• Possible sponsors include:
• UNICEF
• CARE
• WHO
• CIDA
• Various NGOs
• Role of Sponsors:
• Fund project costs
• Consult on project as subject matter expert
• Share qualitative data to augment social diagnosis stage of PRECEDE model
• Attend meetings to consume program Reports
Project Description – Sponsor/Funder Support

19. Pre-Evaluation
Project Description – Timeline
2015 2019
Today
Jul Nov 2016 Jul Nov 2017 Jul Nov 2018 Jul Nov
Funding
Approved
1/11/2016
Full Implementation Approval
9/19/2016
Website
launched
4/15/2016
Intervention Design Completed
4/29/2016
Pilot Implementation Completed
9/5/2016
Intervention
Implementation
Completed
9/28/2018
Development
Pilot
Implementation
Post-Evaluation
1. Staffing
2. Technology
3. Baseline Study
4. Workshop development
5. Marketing Materials
1. Test Intervention
in limited target
population area
1. Execute intervention covering 544
rural districts in Bangladesh
Stakeholder Meetings
Legend

20. Costs
Units Type of Cost
Amount
Requested
Amount from Angel
Sponsors
In-Kind Contribution
Valued
Program Budget
Total
Personnel Expense
Non-Traveling
Program Director 1 Fixed
Project Manager 5
Project Staff 3 Fixed
Traveling (returning to central
office during evaluation
periods)
Team Leads 10 Fixed
Interns 30 Variable
Volunteers 100 In-kind
General Office Expense
Central Office
Office Furniture Fixed
Desktop Computers 9 One-time
Copy Machine 1 One-time
Mobile Offices
Laptops 40 One-time
Both
Office Supplies/Materials Recurring
Software 49 One-time
Intervention Development
Marketing
Website Design 1 One-time
Website Hosting 1 One-time
Flyers 50,000 One-time
Brochures 50,000 One-time
Posters 50,000 One-time
Workshop Materials
Surveys 80,000 One-time
Training Materials 80,000 One-time
Workshop content 80,000 One-time
Baseline Assessment
Paid Premium Articles/Data 5 One-time

21. Costs – contd.
Units Type of Cost Amount Requested
Amount from Angel
Sponsors
In-Kind Contribution
Valued
Program Budget
Total
Meetings
In-person
Room rental 1 Recurring
Projector Rental 1 Recurring
Microphone Rental 1 Recurring
Food 50 Recurring
Dial-in
Conference bridge line 1 One-time
Pilot
Travel 140 Variable
Food (fixed per diem) 140 Fixed
Workshop location rental Variable
Lodging Variable
Pre/Post Evaluation
N/A
Implementation
Travel Variable
Food (fixed per diem) Fixed
Workshop location rental Variable
Lodging Variable

22. Evaluation
• The following evaluations will be necessary to ensure effectiveness of the
program:
• Pre-Evaluation
• A formative evaluation of the inputs, activities and structure of project
• Supply of staff, target population turn out, workshop delivery, accessibility of services, costs,
etc.
• Should follow Intervention pilot stage
• Post-Evaluation (Performance measure)
• Outcomes and impacts of this intervention will not be immediate
• Summative evaluation required to measure desired impacts
• Independent organization or consultant should perform evaluation
• Interim Reports
• During the execution period of the intervention, data must be collected on progress and
other measurable indicators
• Interim reports should be developed to discuss such indicators

23. Asia Child Marriage Initiative: Summary of Research in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. (2013).
Retrieved July 1, 2015, from http://www.icrw.org/files/publications/PLAN ASIA Child Marriage-3
Country Study.pdf
Early marriage and sexual and reproductive health vulnerabilities of young women: a synthesis of
recent evidence from developing countries. Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology: October
2011 - Volume 23 - Issue 5 - p 334–339 doi:10.1097/GCO.0b013e32834a93d2, Santhya, K.G.
Adolescent and pediatric gynecology: Edited by Paula J. Adams Hillard.
Bibliography

24. Girl Child Marriage and Its Association With National Rates of HIV, Maternal Health, and Infant
Mortality Across 97 Countries. (2013). Retrieved July 1, 2015, from
http://health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2013
-05-13-high-rates-of-child-brides-and-maternal-and-infant-mortality.aspx
Joar Svanemyr, Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli, Charlotte Sigurdson Christiansen, and Michael Mbizvo
(2012). Preventing child marriages: first international day of the girl child “my life, my right, end
child marriage. Reproductive Health. 2012; 9:31. Published online 2012 Nov 20.
doi: 10.1186/1742-4755-9-31
Bibliography – cntd.

25. National Survey on Child Marriage by Plan Bangladesh and icddr,b. (2013). Retrieved July 1, 2015,
from http://plan-international.org/files/Asia/publications/national-survey-on-child-marriage-by-
plan-bangladesh-and-icddr-b
Raj A (2010). When the mother is a child: the impact of child marriage on the health and human
rights of girls. US National Library of Medicine: Archives of disease in childhood, 95(11), 931-5.
doi:10.1136/adc.2009.178707
UNICEF Data: Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women. (2015, May 1). Retrieved from
http://data.unicef.org/child-protection/child-marriage
Bibliography – cntd.

26. THANK YOU

27. • Minister alleys fear of age reduction
• Published : Thursday, 9 July, 2015, Time : 12:00 AM, View Count : 12
• Banani Mallick
The EU ambassador in Dhaka on Tuesday said 18 years must be the marriage age for girls
and 16 should only be an exception, not the other way round.
Pierre Mayaudon made this comment while speaking at an EU-Unicef joint launching of
child rights toolkit in the capital.
Referring to his comment Meher Afroz Chumki, State Minister for Women and Children
Affairs told the Daily Observer, the government had finally decided not to lower girls'
marriage age.
"We are not going to decrease girl's marriage age from 18 to 16. The marriage age will be
18. And it is confirmed," she said.
• Girls' marriage age remains 18
• - See more at:
http://www.observerbd.com/2015/07/09/98894.php#sthash.tdDmIJrC.dpuf