Bangladeshi teenage Sharmin Akter, who has turned into an icon of courage, has urged girls to raise their voice against child marriage at their homes and neighbourhoods.

"Girls should not think they are helpless; they rather must seek help from local police and their classmates to stop child marriage," said Sharmin, the winner of the International Women of Courage Award, yesterday.

She returned home from the US on April 5.

Sharmin's dream of pursuing higher education was about to end as her mother attempted to marry her off forcibly when she was a student of class IX at Jhalakathi's Rajapur Pilot Girls High School in 2015.

Finding no way out, she knocked at the door of local police and sued her mother and the bridegroom for the attempt. The case is now under trial.   

On March 29 this year, the US honoured Sharmin with the Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award 2017 for courageously resisting her mother's attempts to marry her off at an early age.

The US embassy in Dhaka yesterday organised a press meet programme at the capital's Edward M Kennedy (EMK) Centre for Sharmin to share with journalists her experience at winning the award.

The 15-year-old girl said to reduce child marriage, those involved in the practice should be punished.

“If people involved in child marriage are punished, others will be afraid of committing the same act,” she said.

Sharmin told girls that they could also seek assistance from members and chairmen of union parishads, if their parents forcibly try to marry them off.

“I want to be a lawyer and fight for the rights of underprivileged women,” said Sharmin, who sat for the SSC examinations this year.

Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, a trend that threatens the health, safety, and education of millions of girls and undermines the country's progress.

US First Lady Melania Trump and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas A Shannon presented the award to 13 women from around the world including Sharmin.

Since the inception of this award in 2007, the State Department has honoured over 100 women from over 60 countries.

Sharmin travelled across the US to engage in an International Visitor Leadership Programme with the American people. She shared her experience with the school students of the USA and discussed how they could work together to improve the lives of women and girls around the world.