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DHAKA, Aug 29, 2025 (BSS) – While every seven seconds a girl under the age of 15 is married somewhere in the world, the situation in Bangladesh is even more alarming, as 59 percent of girls are married before reaching 18.
 
Twenty-two percent of girls are married before the age of 15, while 31 percent of girls between 15 and 19 are pregnant. The rate of child marriage has increased significantly across the country.
 
According to lawyers and human rights activists, everyone must say ‘no’ to child marriage, while ensuring that the law is strictly implemented to prevent the practice. They stressed that all those involved must be held legally accountable and effective measures taken to eradicate the menace.
 
They further said qazis, priests and public representatives must also face punishment if they are found involved in child marriages. Legal action must be taken against those who attend such marriage ceremonies, they added, noting that only then would it be possible to stop the practice.
 
In Bagatipara upazila of Natore district, fifteen students of a women’s madrasa were supposed to sit for the entrance examination in 2021. However, none of them participated in the exam, as all 15 were married off during the closure of educational institutions amid the Corona pandemic.
 
Superintendent of the madrasa, Abdur Rouf, said that all 15 of his students, who were supposed to take part in the examination, were married off as schools remained closed due to the pandemic.
 
This incident is not unique to Bagatipara, but reflects a wider national picture. Many students who were victims of child marriage could not take part in that year’s SSC examination.
 
According to research by Manusher Jonno Foundation, from April to October 2020, a total of 13,886 child marriages took place in 84 upazilas across 21 districts. On average, 65 child marriages occurred every day. Statistics show that Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage in South Asia and the fourth highest in the world.
 
A BRAC study found that child marriage increased by 13 percent during the pandemic—the highest rise in the last 25 years. However, 68 percent of planned child marriages were stopped in the first 10 months of 2020.
 
From March to November 2020, two sixth-grade students, four seventh-grade students, six eighth-grade students, four ninth-grade students and four tenth-grade students of Pariyali Adarsh Balika Dakhil Madrasa in Manirampur upazila of Jashore were subjected to child marriage. On the other hand, 72 percent more child marriages were prevented during this period compared to 2019.
 
According to UNICEF, Bangladesh is one of the leading countries in terms of child marriage. In Bangladesh, 18 percent of girls are married before the age of 15. Globally, 700 million girls are victims of child marriage, and if the trend continues, the number could rise to 950 million by 2030.
 
A Save the Children report also noted that 20 percent of married girls under the age of 15 in Bangladesh become mothers of two or more children before turning 24. This leads to increased maternal mortality and malnutrition.
 
The Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey shows that in 66 percent of cases, women married as children become pregnant before the age of 19 over a decade.
 
Lawyer Moniruzzaman said, “To prevent child marriage, prevention committees should be formed at the national, district, upazila and union levels, consisting of government officials, public representatives, NGO workers and local dignitaries. Parents must be made aware, and the law should be strictly enforced.”
 
He added that the government is determined to prevent child marriage and violence against women and children.
 
“No girl should be a victim of child marriage,” he said. “We must work towards that goal, and in doing so, the law must be strictly enforced. Field-level officials of all government ministries and departments must properly carry out their responsibilities to stop child marriage.”