Minara's Story

As a child, Minara's future looked promising, despite the fact that she grew up in a poor village in the Parbatipur province in the north of Bangladesh. She was a pretty and diligent student and had good grades. 

An abrupt End of Childhood
But due to poverty, her parents decided to marry off their daughter. They hoped to provide for her that way, because they were hardly able to afford her schooling, her clothing and food. Minara was just 14 years old then. She didn't agree, but the girl was unable to persuade her well-meaning parents otherwise. The neighbours didn't interfere either, because the tradition of child brides is widespread. Minara moved into her in-laws' house after the wedding. Her 19-year-old husband was unemployed and unable to provide for her. Minara became pregnant six months later, but the family hardly took that into consideration. She became ill several times during her pregnancy and was hardly able to recover. Fortunately, the home birth went well, without any complications. The young mother remained sickly and was undernourished and emaciated.

Violence and its Consequences
Her husband had an increasing aversion to her. He began to insult Minara and sometimes beat her face. One time in his anger, he grabbed a shoe, in which there was an unseen nail. He hit Minara with it and struck her left eye. The neighbours intervened and took the bleeding girl to a hospital. But I was too late, she became blind on that eye. After this incident, Minaras Vater took his daughter and her son home with him and undertook legal proceedings against his son-in-law. Minara's husband wanted to take her back, but Minara  refused. The young man remarried soon afterward. But after the abuse and the severe consequences, everything changed for Minara. Today, her parents regret having married her off so early and ending her childhood so abruptly. They say that child marriages are a social curse.