Shahina is a young girl from a village in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Her dad pulls rickshaws, and her mom looks after their home. Shahina has three siblings in her family. When she was just 15 years old, Shahina was forced into marriage after finishing 10th grade in 2015.
“I was so disappointed and lost hope in life. I cried for a week. I wanted to go to school, but I couldn’t. Still, I can remember my golden moments with my friends in school”, Shahina said.
By 2018, she became a mother. Her marriage ended in 2020, leaving her back with her parents. She felt like a burden because she wasn’t earning money and grew frustrated. In her community, many people aren’t aware of children’s and women’s rights, empowerment, and the importance of education. This leads to problems like child labor, drug dealing, sexual harassment, early and forced marriages, polygamy, dowry issues, trafficking, and kidnappings.
Adolescent girls and boys face challenges like dropping out of school, early pregnancies, sexual harassment, and abuse.
“When I felt that I was a burden to my parents, it hurt me much, but I had no way in my hands other than to stay here with my parents. There are no opportunities for a girl to earn money.
“As I have a baby, I just tried to survive for my baby only. Like me, many more girls are victims of forced into marriage at an early age and stopped from schooling”, Shahina added.
However, a significant change began in July 2022, when the Joining Forces for Child Protection in Emergencies (JF-CPiE) project started. They aimed to tackle these issues by raising awareness, empowering the community, and building their skills.
In December 2022, as part of the program, they held a special session in Shahina’s village called a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). The aim was to find families needing support, especially those with vulnerable children. Shahina Akter was identified as one of these families. Shahina was among the families identified and enrolled in a training program to acquire work skills and the know-how to manage a small business. Shahina received startup support of Twelve Thousand Taka to explore small-scale opportunities.
With the support she received, Shahina bought a pregnant goat with the first installment and used the second installment to start poultry farming and grow vegetables. Now she has three goats, eggs and chicken from her hens, and fresh vegetables from her garden, and she’s making money.
Shahina says, “Now I feel much better because I can earn and support myself and my child. I want to continue my education and send my child to school. I dream of growing my small business and becoming self-sufficient. I want to set an example for our society.”
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This publication was produced with the financial support of the German Humanitarian Assistance
Its contents are the sole responsibility of Joining Forces and do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Humanitarian Assistance.