Violence against women has its root in the cultural and institutional structures in societies. Socialized gender roles with patriarchal origins, gender stereotypes, and the power dynamics as well as discriminatory rules, laws, and traditions and customs are the structural factors that influence violence against women. Based on qualitative research, this paper presents the structural factors that affect adolescent girls’ vulnerability to child marriage in the urban poor settings in Bangladesh.
Urbanization is generally considered as the sign of economic progress and it provides more opportunity for the girls to work outside the home and open the options of mobility. The research finds that the age of girls at marriage has increased in the urban setting; however, the practice of early marriage is still prevalent and girls experience violence in and outside their home. While government and non-government interventions had brought positive changes in perceptions regarding child marriage in the urban settings, structural factors such as parents’ migrant status, poor living condition, practices of dowry system and sense of insecurity impact negatively on the practice of child marriage.
Recognizing the fact that girls’ accessing education and being engaged in economic activities have positive impacts on reducing or at least delaying the practice of child marriage , this paper recommends that the linkage across girl’s education, skills training, safety security and opportunity of income generation work need to be tied in one consecutive scale, not in sporadic intervention. It is critical to design and implement multi-sectoral programmes aimed at protecting women and girls from violence that include both preventive measures (e.g. aimed at changing norms around gender-based violence) and response strategies (e.g. counseling for victims, legal support). In addition to that, ensuring young girls’ voice and agency is essential in order for them to stand against the harmful social norms and practices.
