Basic Info: Puja Baroi, 15, from Wazirpur
Facts:
- Puja got married in grade 7 during the Covid-19 pandemic. The marriage lasted only 6 months due to physical and mental torture.
- Now Puja is in Class-X. She bears her educational expenses by sewing clothes.
- She is a member of child forum and Impact+
- She is working to raise awareness on issues like child marriage, child labor, menstrual hygiene, eve teasing or sexual harassment, and many other right based issues.
Story:
“Give me an educated mother, I will give you an educated nation,” is a great quotation from Napoleon. Only an educated mother can indeed make a civilized nation. In Bangladesh, 66% of adolescent girls are deprived of education due to early marriage. It is now a great problem for the country and an obstacle against the proper growth of the next generation, especially for the girls’ children. Puja Baroi (15) is one of the victims of early marriage. She lives in West Satla village under Satla Union. Her father is a poor farmer and her mother is a housewife. Due to acute poverty, her parents arranged her marriage in spite of her unwillingness ultimately pursuing the dream of Puja who desired to be a self-reliant person getting a job.
Puja is the 2nd child among the fourth of her parents. She has one elder brother who studies in Class-XI and the other two brothers and sisters read in Class VII and Class-II respectively. She was growing up like many other girls of her community dreaming of a great future. But all of a sudden, there comes the COVID-19 situation in the country. The government declared a lock down throughout the country for a notable period of time. Poor people had no work and spent a miserable time.
During this bad situation, her parents forced her to get married when she was a student of class VII. But the marriage did not last even for six months, as she came back to her father’s house being tortured by her husband’s family both physically and mentally. All these happen as she did not know the meaning of marriage in such a tender age.
Her parents realized the mistakes but could do nothing good for her child. Returning to father’s house, she started a new life getting admission to School. It was not easy for her as parents could not support her in this regard. She had nobody to bear the educational expenses. Finding no way, she rather engaged herself in income income-generating profession. She learned sewing from a neighbor’s sister-in-law and soon bought a sewing machine working in another’s house as a maid. In leisure time, she works and earns money for herself. She also supports her family with her earned money. Alongside her studies, she engaged herself in Child Forum activities from where she started to get awareness of right-based issues. Gradually she started participating in LSBE & Impact+ sessions and other awareness programs of CRSS & World Vision partnership project. As time progressed, she became more active and involved herself in different awareness activities in her own community. She is working to raise awareness on issues like child marriage, child labor, menstrual hygiene, eve teasing or sexual harassment, and many other right-based issues.
Now Puja is in Class-X of Arts Section and determined to fulfill her dream. Once she has been a victim of Early Marriage and experienced the bad effects of it. She does want the same thing happen to other girls. Being an active advocate of child marriage, she walks door to door for raising awareness among the parents on child marriage. She is tirelessly working to promote child rights and protections issues at the community level being a part of child forum. Community people including the local leaders appreciate her initiatives. She has proven herself and become a model social worker. Everybody loves Puja for her good deeds.
