THE ROLE OF UNICEF IN PREVENTING CHILD MARRIAGE TRADITION IN BANGLADESH (2011 – 2015)

Abstract

Getting married is one of important commitment in life and is considered a new stage in life to unite men and women to start new life together. However, in Bangladesh, getting married is usually not only between men and women, but also between boys and girls, which is morally wrong. This marriage is categorized as child marriage because the tradition in which Bangladesh people marry under 18 years old is typically done by poorer families in rural areas. Brides in child marriages are usually younger than the groom hence, when married, brides get so many disadvantages and negative impacts. UNICEF, as a part of United Nations organization, have a responsibility to protect children from any sort of violation. In order to protect children in Bangladesh, especially girls, UNICEF gave their effort and support in helping the local government to overcome this issue through education program called EFA. Moreover, this thesis aims to answer the question like: how did UNICEF program contribute to minimize the number of child marriage in Bangladesh (2011-2015)? This thesis also aims to explain the existence of UNICEF as an intergovernmental institution to overcome child marriage issue, as well as to explain the cooperation between UNICEF and Government of Bangladesh, and if that cooperation worked out well. Both actors, the UNICEF and the government, are interdependent, but has mutual interest which they can achieve the benefits. This thesis used qualitative method to explain the variable that are collected through primary and secondary data. Therefore, the result from this thesis explains the existence of the efforts and programs UNICEF introduce in Bangladesh through their cooperation with the government of Bangladesh.