Drop under-18 marriage provision

Bangladesh should remove the provision in the draft law permitting marriage under the age of 18 to work for a country free of child marriage, said a senior official of the Human Rights Watch (HRW).

“…parliament is considering legislation that would allow child marriage for the first time in decades," Heather Barr, senior researcher, Women's Rights Division of the HRW, wrote in an article titled “Girls' Rights Hang in the Balance in Bangladesh”.

“The current law bans marriage before the age of 18 for women and 21 for men, with no exceptions. The new law would permit marriage of girls below age 18 in special circumstances, such as accidental or unlawful pregnancy.”

The Bangladesh government is yet to take sufficient steps to end child marriage, in spite of promises to do so, she claimed.