UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell has called upon Bangladesh to address existing legal loopholes that permit child marriage, urging immediate investment in the lives and education of the country’s children. During her visit, she emphasized the need to close gaps in the national law that still allow the practice, underscoring how early marriage often results in girls leaving school and facing early pregnancies, as reported by JURIST.
The 2017 Child Marriage Restraint Act in Bangladesh defines a child marriage as a union where the woman is under 18 or the man is under 21. However, Section 19 of this Act allows exceptions under “special circumstances,” provided there is a court’s directive and parental consent. These provisions have come under scrutiny for enabling continued instances of child marriage in a country where 47.2 percent of women aged 20 to 24 were married before reaching 18, according to the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2025.
In response to these concerns, Women and Children Affairs Minister Abu Zafar Md. Zahid Hossain announced that amendments to the law are being drafted, which would include mandatory digital birth records for marriage registration, aimed at preventing falsification of age certificates. Bangladesh remains committed to its target of eradicating child marriage by 2041, although progress has been slow and needs significant acceleration.
Bangladesh’s obligations extend beyond national laws, as it is a party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which dictates that child marriages should have no legal effect. Nonetheless, the current legislation in Bangladesh punishes those involved but does not nullify the marriage itself.
Russell’s call for action coincided with her plea for increased governmental spending on education and health—crucial sectors that reflect the nation’s priorities. She noted that Bangladesh’s promise to boost funding must now translate into concrete action, ensuring the safeguarding of education not just for its citizens, but also for Rohingya and host-community children.
The complex battle against child marriage in Bangladesh is further highlighted by a reduction from 51 percent to 47.2 percent in child marriage rates from 2020 to 2025, as underscored in a Hindustan Times article. Despite these reductions, the pace of change remains inadequate for the bold goal set for the next decades.