Peer education training on adolescent girls’ reproductive health awareness
A two-day Peer Education Training was organized by Nari Unnayan Shakti (NUS) with the aim of increasing awareness among adolescent girls about reproductive health, encouraging them to lead safe and healthy lives, and strengthening their leadership and capacity to prevent child marriage.
The training was held on 7 and 8 October 2026 at the NUS Training Centre. The sessions covered adolescent reproductive health, personal health and hygiene, rights, the harmful effects of child marriage, actions to prevent child marriage, and the role of peer education in creating awareness among fellow adolescents. The training was organized with support from the Department of Women Affairs.
The overall training was coordinated by Dr. Afroja Pravin, Executive Director of Nari Unnayan Shakti. The trainers were Mr. Abdul Momin, Project Coordinator, Nari Unnayan Shakti; Ms. Nusrat Sultana Afroj, Executive Chairperson, Young Women for Development Rights and Climate (YWDRC); Dr. Sultan Muhammad Razzaq, Executive Director, Forum for Culture and Human Development (FCHD); and Ms. Selina Khatun, Field Officer, Nari Unnayan Shakti.
The main objective of the training was to increase participants’ knowledge and awareness of adolescent reproductive health and rights and to inform them about the harmful social, health, and psychological consequences of child marriage. Another key objective was to enable adolescent girls to promote healthy behaviours and rights awareness among themselves and their peers and to play a positive role in preventing child marriage.
Special emphasis was placed on strengthening the participants’ leadership and communication skills through the peer education approach, as well as enhancing their ability to disseminate awareness messages among their peers.
Through the two-day training, the participants increased their knowledge and awareness of adolescent reproductive health, hygiene, and rights. They also gained a better understanding of the causes and harmful consequences of child marriage, as well as various strategies for preventing it.
At the conclusion of the training, the participants gained the necessary knowledge, communication skills, and confidence to work as peer educators, creating awareness of reproductive health among their peers and other adolescent girls in their respective communities and contributing to the prevention of child marriage.
The training was considered an important step toward empowering adolescent girls to become more aware of their health and rights and to play an active role in building a society free from child marriage.