Child marriage represents a profound violation of human rights that disproportionately affects girls in Bangladesh. This harmful practice strips adolescent girls of their fundamental right to self-determination, particularly the agency to choose when and whom to marry. By undermining their bodily autonomy, child marriage perpetuates and is perpetuated by deep-seated gender inequality.
Bangladesh faces a significant challenge: it has the highest rate of child marriage in South Asia, with 52 percent of girls aged 18 to 24 married before their 18th birthday. At the current pace of reduction, a mere 2.1 percent annually, it would take an alarming 215 years to eradicate this practice. The burden falls most heavily on uneducated girls from rural, lower socio-economic backgrounds, threatening their health and severely limiting their life prospects. Child marriage often leads to adolescent pregnancies, which are a leading cause of death among older adolescent girls due to complications in childbirth. Furthermore, it is strongly linked to intimate partner violence, with a staggering 62 percent of married adolescent girls reporting such abuse in 2024.
The Complex Web of Drivers
The drivers of child marriage in Bangladesh are multi-faceted and deeply entrenched. They are rooted in gender inequality, harmful social norms, and economic hardship. The lack of accessible and inclusive education, health, and protection services—particularly barriers to sexual and reproductive health rights—further compound the problem. These challenges are exacerbated by climate-induced natural disasters, humanitarian crises, ambiguous legal frameworks, and limited financial and human resources.
A Holistic Approach to Eradication
In alignment with its mandate, UNFPA Bangladesh implements a comprehensive, evidence and system-based programme to tackle child marriage through a multi-sectoral lens. The programme operates across a socio-ecological framework, engaging at multiple levels:
- Empowering Girls: The programme works to empower adolescent girls with knowledge and agency, enabling them to make informed decisions about their lives and bodies.
- Community Engagement: It fosters a deeper understanding within communities and families by engaging parents, caregivers, men, boys, and traditional and religious leaders to shift harmful social norms and practices.
- Strengthening Systems: UNFPA focuses on bolstering the capacity of national systems—including education, health, protection-—to deliver inclusive services.
- Policy and Coordination: The programme supports the government in convening, coordinating, and implementing national and subnational multi-sectoral action plans. This includes leveraging existing social protection and economic empowerment programs to address the root causes of child marriage.
- Evidence-Based Action and Partnership: UNFPA works to increase the capacity of government to generate and utilize high-quality data to inform and monitor evidence-based interventions. We partner with civil society organizations, strengthening their ability to rally community support and protect fundamental rights.
By addressing the complex drivers of child marriage through a gender transformative, multisectoral, and adadtive approach, UNFPA Bangladesh is committed to accelerating progress and ensuring every adolescent girl in Bangladesh has the opportunity to live a life of dignity, free from violence and coercion.
