Dhaka: British High Commission in Dhaka has concluded its four months’ campaign to raise awareness for ending ‘forced marriage’ practices by successfully staging the last show of the theatre play ‘Koinna’ (The Bride) at Central Shaheed Minar in Moulvibazar.

‘Koinna’, is a play about a young British girl's struggle to save her rights and live with her choice of marriage. The last show of the theatre play was staged on Thursday.

A forced marriage is a marriage conducted without the valid consent of one or both parties and where duress is a factor. It is recognised as a form of violence against women and men, a form of domestic/child abuse and a serious abuse of human rights.

Forcing someone to marry against their wishes is a criminal offence in both UK and Bangladesh.

Forced marriage issue is one of the Consular priorities in Bangladesh and over the years, the British High Commission has been continuously working with ‘Foreign office Forced Marriage Unit ‘to raise awareness against forced marriage practices with the help of local partners and stakeholders.

Typically known as ‘London Koinnas’, British Born Bangladeshi Origin X comes to Bangladesh with her parents for a holiday, where her parents' ultimate plans are to marry off X to a wealthy young lad in Sylhet.

X struggles to establish her rights and with help from her friends she manages to convince her parents and fight the odds which allow her to have a marriage of her choice.

The drama also narrates the role the British High Commission can play in supporting such victims of forced marriage and abuse.

The journey of ‘Koinna’ began in December in Jogonnathpur, Sunamganj with an aim to take the ‘forced marriage’ awareness raising message to the doorsteps of British Bangladeshi community in Sylhet division.

The objective was to sensitise the audience, including policy makers, educationists, women and the community, about social sufferings resulting from the issue of forced marriages.

Historically, Sylhet has strong links with the UK and is ancestral home to a large number of British Bangladeshi expatriates.

‘Koinna’ was also staged in other parts of Sylhet, including Nabiganj, Habiganj and Beanibazar.

All of the shows attracted a large audience and the audience embraced the idea of spreading the message through a theatre production, according to British High Commission in Dhaka.

Along with the street play, the British High Commission also ran a series radio messages and television advertisements to raise awareness against forced marriage practices.

This campaign created a considerable impact on the minds of those who could think about the damaging consequences of forced marriage and helped them in creating a realization that they too had a role to play to bring a change in society.