Newly-weds Khadiza Akter Khushi and Tariqul Islam broke with ancient tradition during their wedding When 19-year-old Khadiza Akter Khushi led hundreds of people to the home of her soon-to-be husband, she didn’t do it for her guests. She did it for all the Bangladeshi women she hoped would follow in her footsteps. “If boys can bring girls to marriage, why can’t girls?” she asked BBC Bengali in the days after her wedding to Tariqul Islam had gone viral. That’s because the walk was remarkable – and thought to be a first in a country where, for centuries, men have walked to the homes of their brides-to-be on their wedding day. It has both inspired, and horrified: one man suggested the couple and their families should be beaten with slippers. The girl burned to death for reporting sexual harassment The pressure to be beautiful in Bangladesh But for Khadiza and her husband it was, quite simply, the right thing to do. “Tradition is not the issue here,” she told the BBC. “It is a matter of women’s rights. Today, if a girl goes to marry a boy, then no one is harmed. “Instead, abuse of women will decrease, women will […]

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