Browsing by Author "Akter, Sayema"

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Harmful practices prevail despite legal knowledge: A mixed-method study on the paradox of child marriage in Bangladesh
(Taylor & Francis, 2/24/2021) Akter, Sayema; Williams, Chloe; Talukder, Animesh; Islam, Muhammed Nazmul; Escallon, Juanita Vasquez; Sultana, Tania; Kapil, Neha; Sarker, Malabika
Child marriage is a globally recognised human rights violation that disproportionately affects girls, especially in developing countries. It has serious negative consequences on girls’ physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health and rights. Although well-pronounced laws against child marriage were enacted in Bangladesh, the practice remains a significant challenge. Lack of law enforcement and persistent social norms ultimately allow child marriage to persist around the country. Social norms have an impact on the prevalent attitudes toward child marriage. Therefore, this mixed-method study aimed to explore the legal knowledge, perception, and practice of child marriage in Bangladesh. This study was part of a broader evaluation of a UNICEF media programme. Adolescent boys and girls aged between 10 and 19 years and their parents were interviewed in three Bangladeshi districts. All the respondents were aware of the legal age of marriage and knew that child marriage is punishable by law. This study illuminated the reasons, including early marriage among boys, poverty, dowry, and sexual harassment. Communities and policymakers need to be engaged to trigger larger structural and cultural changes to remedy the harmful social norm and its practice
Introducing urine‑enriched biochar‑based fertilizer for vegetable production: Acceptability and results from rural Bangladesh
(Springer Link, 2/19/2022) Sutradhar, Ipsita; deGrafenried, Meredith Jackson; Akter, Sayema; McMahon, Shannon A.; Waid, Jillian L.; Schmidt, Hans‑Peter; Wendt, Amanda S.; Gabrysch, Sabine
Improved agricultural practices that increase yields and preserve soils are critical to addressing food insecurity and undernutrition among smallholder farmer families. Urineenriched biochar has been shown to be an accessible and efective fertilization option in various subtropical countries; however, it is new to Bangladesh. To better understand attitudes and experiences preparing and using urine-enriched biochar fertilizer, mixed-methods research was undertaken among smallholder farmers in northeastern Bangladesh in 2016/2017. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 respondents who had compared the production of crops grown with biochar-based fertilizer to usual practice. In addition, in areas where trainings on biochar-based fertilization had been ofered, 845 farmers were asked about their experience through a quantitative survey. Interview results indicated that cow urine-enriched biochar was favored over human urine because cow urine was perceived as clean and socially acceptable, whereas human urine was considered impure and disgusting. Respondents praised biochar-based fertilizer because it increased yields, cost little, was convenient to prepare with readily available natural materials, produced tastier crops, and allowed families to share their larger yields which in turn enhanced social and fnancial capital. Comparative feld trials indicated a 60% yield beneft in both cabbage and kohlrabi crops. Challenges included uneven access to ingredients, with some respondents having difculty procuring cow urine and biomass feedstock. The low social, health, and fnancial risk of adoption and the perceived benefts motivated farmers to produce and apply biochar-based fertilizer in their gardens, demonstrating strong potential for scale-up of this technology in Bangladesh.