Global Women's Voices: Share Personal Stories

Morjina Begum, Bangladesh

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Morjina’s father was a religious leader. He used to call for prayers in the mosque and disseminate religious information. Morjina is his eldest daughter and he married her off when she was twelve. On her marriage day, he said, “My dear, children in a marriage is God’s blessing. You should not try to stop this process in any way. Otherwise you will incur God’s wrath. This is my command.”

Morjina, throughout her lifetime, has tried to follow this command word for word. In spite of stark poverty, Morjina has already given birth to eight children. three of whom are physically handicapped. Recently, Morjina has heard about the benefits of family planning and how families using contraception are happier. Yet her father’s command still rings in her ears. Disregarding this command is going against the will of God.

In addition, her husband also considers contraception as something that makes the female body unholy. He thinks that only God has any authority to bring children to the world and only God can provide for the children They have no control over their well-being.

Meanwhile, her husband has been handicapped for the last three years. He has married off two of his daughters but there are lots of complications involved. The eldest son lives a separate married life and does not contribute financially to the family. Marjina is in dire straits trying to take care of the five remaining children but she has nowhere to go.

updated: 7/14/2004