A Hero Without a Cape

by Tasmiah Afroze & Sams Arefin

The world’s largest refugee camp is a sprawling maze of bamboo and tarpaulin shelters, a city of necessity built on resilience. It was here, in Balukhali Camp 8 East, that nine-year-old Suhana arrived in 2017, having fled the violence that shattered her life in Myanmar. For Suhana, the second of six siblings, life became a daily test of survival as her parents struggled to rebuild. 

round her, deep-seated traditions took root in the camp’s soil. Girls were often seen as burdens, and early marriage was presented as a solution. This wasn’t just a perception; a 2025 study would later confirm that 55% of women aged 19–49 in Cox’s Bazar were married before their 18th birthday. For generations, this was the accepted path. “In Myanmar, girls were married young. It was just how things were,” Suhana recalls. But a question burned within her:

“Why can’t we study or shape our own futures?”

A Spark of Awakening 

In 2022, that quiet question became an urgent call to action. News rippled through her block of a local girl, barely Suhana’s age, who had been married off and was now suffering abuse. The story wasn’t just a piece of gossip; it was a devastating glimpse into a future she was determined to avoid for others. “The news seared into my heart,” she says. “I didn’t have the words then, but I knew it was wrong”. 

That same year, Suhana found the place that would give her the words she needed: World Vision’s Peacock Centre, a child-friendly space that felt like a sanctuary from the camp’s harsh realities. Inside, she learned about her rights, her health, and the profound, lasting damage caused by child marriage. The lessons were transformative.

“I learned early marriage destroys health, education, and hope,” Suhana says with a conviction forged in knowledge. “It’s not love, it’s loss”. 

A Courageous Intervention 

Her new resolve was soon put to the test. Suhana learned that her friend’s 15-year-old sister was being prepared for marriage. The thought of another girl losing her future was unbearable. Steeling her nerves, she approached the family, but her pleas were dismissed. To them, she was just a child, too young to understand the complexities of life. 

“I was afraid, but I couldn’t let her lose her future,” Suhana says. Though shaken, she was not deterred. She returned to the Peacock Centre, her sanctuary, and shared the story with the World Vision staff. They listened, not with the intent to take over, but to empower her. Together with trained community volunteers, they formed a plan. 

Armed with facts and a quiet determination, Suhana visited the family every day. She spoke not with judgment, but with empathy, sharing stories from the Centre about the legal risks and the long-term suffering caused by early marriage. Under the project of JF-FS-CPiE-GFFO, the World Vision staff then facilitated a formal session with the parents, providing real-life examples and explaining the protective frameworks in place for girls. It was a persistent, gentle campaign of education. After weeks of these conversations, the family’s resistance finally broke. The marriage was cancelled. 

A Ripple of Transformation 

That single act of courage started a ripple effect. Suhana’s story is proof of a powerful trend: research shows that girls who participate in protection programs are twice as likely to intervene in their communities to stop harmful practices. She is the living embodiment of that statistic. 

Her reputation grew, and soon, community members began to seek her out. “People call me ‘Apa’ (big sister),” she says with a proud smile. “If there’s a marriage plan, they come to me first”. Today, she leads peer awareness groups, encouraging girls to stay in school and dream of a bigger future. She dreams of becoming a teacher herself, to empower others just as she was empowered. 

Suhana wears no cape, but her empathy and conviction are her superpowers. In a place where hope can feel scarce, she is a beacon, proving that a single, supported voice can change a community.