Why does Bangladesh have one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world?

[Hellion]

For an economy that was doing better than India in South Asia, child marriage rates in Bangladesh are one of the highest in the world , with only a half dozen African countries having higher rates of child marriage.

At 47 % , that is a ridiculously high rate even by South Asian standards .


What is contributing to this social ill?

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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.

Child marriage

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

bangladesh.unfpa.org

 

[DeadlyVenom]

That's very high.

Is there any background to these stats? What ages are involved and how does it compare to the rest of the subcontinent.

 

[BouncerGuy]

For an economy that was doing better than India in South Asia, child marriage rates in Bangladesh are one of the highest in the world , with only a half dozen African countries having higher rates of child marriage.

At 47 % , that is a ridiculously high rate even by South Asian standards .


What is contributing to this social ill?

Do you have the proof ??? do you have the ages???

 

[BouncerGuy]

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.

Child marriage

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

bangladesh.unfpa.org

 

[RexRex]

At 47 % , that is a ridiculously high rate even by South Asian standards .

47% of all mariages in Bangladesh are child marriages ?! That doesn't sound accurate.

 

[BouncerGuy]

47% of all mariages in Bangladesh are child marriages ?! That doesn't sound accurate.

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.

 

[Hellion]

Do you have the proof ??? do you have the ages???

Thank you for finding the proof yourself

 

[Vikram1989]

In this social media environment, any girl will change mentally for every few years till 40.Imagine after 20 years in future, a 40 years lady with 20 year old kids. Its not a single case but half of the population.it may have been fine a 60 years ago not any more.
As per the below report, more ridiculous thing is that 16% are married by age 15 and 51 % by 28.Total 38 million of girls are getting married. Rural and urban differs slightly ( 44 and 52).So its a common problem and not about education. Important driving factor is poverty as per below stats.

Child marriage atlas - Girls Not Brides

www.girlsnotbrides.org

 

[Major]

An indian made it just to take shots at a bangladeshi poster here.

Your thread would had made sense if we had a few posters from Bangladesh to add to the discussion. Just like we have indians here so we post threads asking about them why so and so is happening.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Thank you for finding the proof yourself

What do you consider a child??

 

[sweep_shot]

An indian made it just to take shots at a bangladeshi poster here.

Your thread would had made sense if we had a few posters from Bangladesh to add to the discussion. Just like we have indians here so we post threads asking about them why so and so is happening.

I rarely engage with the sanghis. It is a massive waste of time.

Do not feed the troll as they say.

 

[RexRex]

An indian made it just to take shots at a bangladeshi poster here.

The bangladeshi on here rarely gives any good insights about his country.. infact he rarely gives good insights about anything.

Maybe pak posters can contribute to the topic since east pakistan used to be their concern.

 

[sweep_shot]

Child marriages are seen more in rural villages of Bangladesh.

It doesn't happen much in Dhaka and other major cities.

Hopefully BD authorities will investigate this problem and take action. Here are the official Bangladeshi laws regarding this matter: http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-details-149.html.

 

[sweep_shot]

Here are the official Bangladeshi laws regarding this matter: http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-details-149.html.

Correction: This law has been replaced with a newer law.

Here is the updated/newer law: https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/s...Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017 English.pdf.

 

[Hellion]

What do you consider a child??

Below 18. Read the article you have posted

 

[Major]

The bangladeshi on here rarely gives any good insights about his country.. infact he rarely gives good insights about anything.

Maybe pak posters can contribute to the topic since east pakistan used to be their concern.

Are you living in 1970?

 

[Rajdeep]

I rarely engage with the sanghis. It is a massive waste of time.

Do not feed the troll as they say.

From my knowledge, no Indian posters here is a member of RSS. So irony of you classifying all of them as Sanghi and then whinning why they generalize you guys as Jihadis.

Just a side note, a Sanghi over crazy Islamist, anyday and anywhere.

That aside, you dont engage with Indians here not because its a waste of your time but because you unable to counter them. I mean you here here everyday since 2016, posting randomly every meal you consume and commenting on every damn thread suggest that you have plenty of time and pretty jobless. So time waste is an excuse...its just that you dont have enough guts to engage in debate with Indians as you know you will be exposed.

Atleast credit to guys like @Cpt. Riswat . He atleast makes an attempt to engage with me in debates even though he himself does not remember last time he won the contest.

I would also urge you to engage with us more. What worse will happen? At max you will lose the debate. But think about this, if you wana lose...what better than losing against absolute top notch posters like us. There is no shame in it. Its a badge of honor.

#HaiHimmat

 

[DeadlyVenom]

In this social media environment, any girl will change mentally for every few years till 40.Imagine after 20 years in future, a 40 years lady with 20 year old kids. Its not a single case but half of the population.it may have been fine a 60 years ago not any more.
As per the below report, more ridiculous thing is that 16% are married by age 15 and 51 % by 28.Total 38 million of girls are getting married. Rural and urban differs slightly ( 44 and 52).So its a common problem and not about education. Important driving factor is poverty as per below stats.

Child marriage atlas - Girls Not Brides

www.girlsnotbrides.org

Why isn't it fine anymore?


Most people finish academics at 22-23, early 20's is an appropriate age to marry.

16% being married by age of 15% I agree is ridiculous, but half getting married by 28 is something quite positive.

 

[Vikram1989]

Why isn't it fine anymore?


Most people finish academics at 22-23, early 20's is an appropriate age to marry.

16% being married by age of 15% I agree is ridiculous, but half getting married by 28 is something quite positive.

Apologies for the typo. its not 28 its 18.

38 million girls are married by age of 18.basically families are throwing their burden to reduce the cost of living.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Apologies for the typo. its not 28 its 18.

38 million girls are married by age of 18.basically families are throwing their burden to reduce the cost of living.

yeah thats wrong, deprives those girls of any hope of education and life experience.

 

[BDfanforever]

52%? That's complete nonsense and way to high to be taken seriously of the claim. BTW, even at 14-16 people can get married with guardian consent even in Western laws. @Hellion

 

[BDfanforever]

Now, I gotta question for you @Hellion forget marriage, why do teenagers sleep around in Western and most of modern world?

Also, why do even Western law allow 16 year old to get married? The current minimum age is 16, but parental or judicial consent is required for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Now, final question for you, why is violence against women so high in INDIA?

 

[KingKhanWC]

India is approx 25% , meaning over 220 million. This more than the population of Bangladesh and most nations.

 

[Major]

India is approx 25% , meaning over 220 million. This more than the population of Bangladesh and most nations.

can we have a new thread on this topic plz

 

[JaDed]

The bangladeshi on here rarely gives any good insights about his country.. infact he rarely gives good insights about anything.

Maybe pak posters can contribute to the topic since east pakistan used to be their concern.

Hardly BD posters even live in BD.. majority moved in their teens or before to west.

 

[JaDed]

India is approx 25% , meaning over 220 million. This more than the population of Bangladesh and most nations.

Yes and it’s bad.. keeps getting highlighted, India makes shows dramas to cut it down.. India has improved a lot on this front.. and hopefully like Polio will be able to get rid of this .

 

[JaDed]

Now, I gotta question for you @Hellion forget marriage, why do teenagers sleep around in Western and most of modern world?

Also, why do even Western law allow 16 year old to get married? The current minimum age is 16, but parental or judicial consent is required for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Now, final question for you, why is violence against women so high in INDIA?

Why do teenagers sleep around isn’t equivalent to being forcefully married.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

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.

Child marriage

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

bangladesh.unfpa.org

Why is the figure set at 18? If it was 16 I could understand. In the western world most kids are having sexual relations by that time. In eastern societies sex outside marriage is frowned up still, so the solution is to get them married earlier.

It's not rocket science, I think most know how it works over there.

 

[JaDed]

Why is the figure set at 18? If it was 16 I could understand. In the western world most kids are having sexual relations by that time. In eastern societies sex outside marriage is frowned up still, so the solution is to get them married earlier.

It's not rocket science, I think most know how it works over there.

Are they marrying with their own free will in South Asia? You yourself say: To get them married earlier..

The uber religious christians in US majority of them still marry on their own free will, even if its early.

 

[BDfanforever]

Why do teenagers sleep around isn’t equivalent to being forcefully married.

Forceful marriage is separate issue in itself..happens even when people are adult and is not limited to BD, but rather entire South Asia.

His issue is the underage marriage in itself. A lot of these issues initially starts from Western Liberalism and then eventually to South Asia. So my counter argument was, how does he address the issue of teenage pregnancy/intimacy in the modern world? Or that is fine as long as people are fooling around, its only issue if people decides to get committed?

And another thing was even by Western standards, 16 is marriage age with parental consent. The child marraige in South Asian culture I think is what you see in Bollywood...that is parents decides whom their children will marry when they grow up.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Are they marrying with their own free will in South Asia? You yourself say: To get them married earlier..

The uber religious christians in US majority of them still marry on their own free will, even if its early.

Why even get married if it's about free will? We have been through all this philosophising in the west and the consensus is that marriage is outdated for most. In the east they have a different value system, and that is a different discussion.

 

[BDfanforever]

Are they marrying with their own free will in South Asia? You yourself say: To get them married earlier..

The uber religious christians in US majority of them still marry on their own free will, even if its early.

Thats a whole separate issue because even many adults don't have free will in many things in South Asian culture. Parents arranges and decides many things for their kids from Education, marriage, to even when to have children, etc.

 

[JaDed]

Why even get married if it's about free will? We have been through all this philosophising in the west and the consensus is that marriage is outdated for most. In the east they have a different value system, and that is a different discussion.

Free will to choose their partner, lot of religious christian folks choose their partners based on their church, they decide not their parents, the value is still not to have pre marital sex.

A value system which parents decide the fate of their kids is the biggest burden of South Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, East Asia has rightly given up on such ideals, heck even Nepal-Lanka are doing better.

 

[BDfanforever]

Why is the figure set at 18? If it was 16 I could understand. In the western world most kids are having sexual relations by that time. In eastern societies sex outside marriage is frowned up still, so the solution is to get them married earlier.

It's not rocket science, I think most know how it works over there.

yeah, things initially start with Western Liberalism then trickles down into South Asia. it's perfectly fine as long as kids are fooling around. When kids are in middle school, they have these ball room dances, prom, etc for kids. Can you believe that?

 

[JaDed]

Thats a whole separate issue because even many adults don't have free will in many things in South Asian culture. Parents arranges and decides many things for their kids from Education, marriage, to even when to have children, etc.

Yes and one of the biggest issues with that is child marriage and hence why 18 was brought as a first step so parents dont impose their will, this is your answer to how 16 yr olds are allowed to marry in West, as over there its still free will.

Parents deciding education etc is momentarily aspect and still wrong but them deciding your life partner is a huge issue, also no bollywood movie shows this nonsense anymore, very rare.

 

[BDfanforever]

Free will to choose their partner, lot of religious christian folks choose their partners based on their church, they decide not their parents, the value is still not to have pre marital sex.

A value system which parents decide the fate of their kids is the biggest burden of South Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, East Asia has rightly given up on such ideals, heck even Nepal-Lanka are doing better.

It's debatable and not necessarily always a bad thing. Haven't you seen Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam? Yeah, I too would get pissed if my kid runs off with a nobody.

You also have to realize one things. Most parents in the Western societies are all alone in their old age...and there is a reason for that. Kids dont care! They only visit them during special holidays.

 

[JaDed]

It's debatable and not necessarily always a bad thing. Haven't you seen Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam? Yeah, I too would get pissed if my kid runs off with a nobody.

You also have to realize one things. Most parents in the Western societies are all alone in their old age...and there is a reason for that. Kids dont care! They only visit them during special holidays.

Highlighting every wrong in a culture doesn’t necessarily mean ours is not wrong.
Your idea is that using pressure is how parents force their kids to take care of them? If that is true that itself is wrong.
I agree we should take care of our parents financially and mentally but mentally not over our mental health.

K3G movie is not really a good example.. the father was dancing with random woman on his bday

 

[BDfanforever]

Highlighting every wrong in a culture doesn’t necessarily mean ours is not wrong.
Your idea is that using pressure is how parents force their kids to take care of them? If that is true that itself is wrong.
I agree we should take care of our parents financially and mentally but mentally not over our mental health.

K3G movie is not really a good example.. the father was dancing with random woman on his bday

Right every culture have their own set of issues. You have to realize how South Asian parents thinks. They always want their kids to marry rich, educated, and well of folks especially from girls side. No one wants to hand over their daughter with a nobody. The daughter while being young and naive might not care about all that and might just fall for a guy who just happens to be a nobody.

Their is also the topic of abortion, that is also debatable and interesting.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Free will to choose their partner, lot of religious christian folks choose their partners based on their church, they decide not their parents, the value is still not to have pre marital sex.

A value system which parents decide the fate of their kids is the biggest burden of South Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, East Asia has rightly given up on such ideals, heck even Nepal-Lanka are doing better.

This is about arranged marriage then, the age isn't the issue. Again, that is a different discussion. Even in desi communities over here, parents rarely dictate marriages any more.