A rally and discussion meeting were held in Charfasson, Bhola, on Monday to mark National Girl Child Day under the slogan, “No More Child Marriage, Girls Will Conquer the World.”

The programme was jointly organised by the upazila administration and the Office of the Upazila Women Affairs Officer on October 12.

At 11:00 am, a colourful rally started from the Upazila Parishad premises, paraded through several important roads and ended at the same venue. Girl children, women and representatives of civil society took part in the rally.

A discussion meeting was held following the rally, chaired by Upazila Women Affairs Officer Md Nur Nabi. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Rumana Afroz attended as the chief guest, while Assistant Commissioner (Land) Emadul Hossain was present as a special guest.

Addressing the meeting, UNO Rumana Afroz said girls were no longer lagging behind. With proper education and security ensured, they could also conquer the world. She called on people from all walks of life to work alongside the administration to prevent child marriage.

Among the invited guests were former general secretary of Charfasson Upazila BNP Motahar Hossain Alamgir Malatia; former vice-president Helal Uddin Tipu; former general secretary of Char Fasson Municipality BNP Khairul Islam Sohel; former organising secretary of Upazila BNP Kazi Manjur Hossain; Upazila Jamaat Amir Principal Mir Mohammad Sharif Hossain; former president of Upazila Jubo Dal Ashraful Rahman Dipu Farazi; and Char Fasson Press Club General Secretary Kamal Goldar. Officials from different levels of the administration and local social and political figures were also present.

Speakers called for collective efforts to protect the rights of girl children, ensure access to education and build a society free from child marriage.