Dhaka: Canadian High Commissioner in Dhaka Benoît-Pierre Laramée on Saturday said ending child marriage is essential for Bangladesh’s economic development.

‘Canada will continue to work with the people and government of Bangladesh to help end child marriage, and build a prosperous Bangladesh,’ he said.

He was addressing a function marking the International Women’s Day, 2015 in the city.

Plan International Bangladesh and the High Commission of Canada jointly organised a colourful event in the city’s Shahbagh area to mark the day.

The diplomat said child marriage is only a violation of their human rights, and it also hinders the development of girls, their communities and their countries. ‘Simply put, child, early and forced marriage puts the lives and futures of girls at risk.’

The event sought to raise awareness and create interest among the general public by having a horse cart rally and a theatrical performance on the back of a pickup van around Shahbagh and TSC.

Although the rally could not take place on its intended route, it managed to create a lot of buzz nonetheless. The main event ended with performances from Fahmida Nabi and the band Project Neon, who enthralled the audience with their music.

Senait Gebregziabher, Country Director of Plan International Bangladesh, welcomed the audience by addressing this year’s theme -‘Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity.’

She talked about child marriage being one of the biggest hurdles towards empowering women in Bangladesh and implored the government to unconditionally keep the marriage age at 18, following recent news that a clause had been added to allow marriage at age 16 with consent from the parents.

Bangladesh has the third highest rate of child marriage in the world, and the highest rate in Asia. Girls who marry early face a myriad of problems, such as dropping out of school, restricted social status, health problems to both the mother and child, and unequal power relations.

The event also shared the experiences of child marriage survivors. Around 200 people attended the main event.