DHAKA: United Kingdom (UK) international development minister Lynne Featherstone arrived in Dhaka on Sunday to see the actions taken to end child marriage and prevent violence against women and girls.

Her visit comes in the wake of July’s Girl Summit in London, which brought together people and governments from around the world to pledge their support for action, said a press release. 

She said, “I am looking forward to meeting with those working to end child marriage and violence against women and girls.  I will be encouraging everyone to get involved to help Bangladesh meet its Girl Summit commitments.”

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pledged at the Girl Summit in London that Bangladesh would end marriage under the age of 15 by 2021 and under 18 by 2041, and reduce the number of girls getting married between 15 and 18 by more than one third by 2021.

At a follow-up conference in Dhaka the UK minister will listen to and encourage survivors of violence to break their silence, and see how the UK government can support efforts to bring an end to child marriage in Bangladesh.

The UK minister will meet Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki and State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam and Speaker of the Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury.

The minister will also visit a number of UK aid-funded projects that support women’s economic empowerment and social development. 

As the largest bilateral grant donor in Bangladesh, the UK government is committed to supporting Bangladesh’s development and progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 

Child marriage not only violates the rights of 14 million girls around the world each year but it is also a key barrier to achieving 6 of the 8 MDGs.

BDST: 1817 HRS, OCT 26, 2014