One year on in Bangladesh

"I loved going to school. There, I used to play hide and seek and other fun games with my friends. I want to go to school again and become a teacher," said a 15-year old child bride. 

On July 22 last year, the UK government and UNICEF co-hosted Girl Summit 2014 to help rally a global movement to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) for all girls everywhere within a generation. Over 700 people attended the event from over 50 countries. Participants included civil society, faith representatives, government ministers, private sector, survivors and young people. Progress has continued in the year since the Summit and now over 180 commitments have been made to end FGM and CEFM. 

This July, we are celebrating the one year anniversary of the Girl Summit. On the eve of the event, the Government of Bangladesh must be congratulated for making progress in improving the lives of women and girls, not least through improving gender parity in primary school and reducing infant and maternal mortality. 

As a growing Asian nation, Bangladesh has made progress in many areas related to gender, diversity and development. It is one of the first countries to have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) with some reservations and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 

Today, several of Bangladesh's achievements in reducing gender disparities are noteworthy: the number of women dying in childbirth has reduced from 400 to 240 per 100,000 live births in the last decade (State Of World Children 2014); education was made free up to Grade 12 for girls outside the metropolitan area from January 2002, promoting girls' education and reducing drop-outs; laws have been legislated to combat violence against women, including the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act of 2010; and the country introduced the National Women Development Policy, the Child Policy in 2011 and the Children's Act 2013.

Despite these achievements, some major challenges still need to be addressed as gender inequity remains pervasive. The prevalence of child marriage continues to be very high with over half of the women between the age of 20-24 marrying before their 18th birthday and almost one in five marrying before 15 (UNICEF, MICS, 2013). Child marriage must be tackled by every nation as it is against the best interests of the child. It is also counter-productive to a country's long term growth and development as these child brides and grooms are often denied opportunities for secondary education and left without adequate opportunities to benefit from and contribute to their country's economic growth. But there is some positive news. Research and data indicate that child marriage in Bangladesh is on a downward trend. 

This decline illustrates that Bangladesh is making some good progress on child marriage. It is the right moment to accelerate that trend, by establishing and enforcing a strong legal framework, implementing appropriate policies and raising awareness to mobilise communities behind the effort to end child marriage. An end to child marriage is feasible as the Government of Bangladesh moves towards achieving middle income status and ensuring development opportunities for all of its people. Social norms are beginning to change and more young girls are becoming empowered, understanding the importance of education and skills and increasingly encouraged, as they reach adulthood, to participate in productive economic activity. 

It is, therefore, encouraging that the government is currently placing a large focus on tackling child marriage and we were pleased that the Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was able to participate in the UK Girl Summit. She committed Bangladesh to end marriage for children under the age of 15 by 2021 and by 2041 for those under 18. She also pledged to reduce the number of girls getting married between 15 and 18 by more than one-third by 2021. Bangladesh's high-level engagement and subsequently hosting its own Girl Summit in October 2014 has paved the way for development partners to explore more targeted solutions around this issue. 

The government's present commitment to reform the 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act and maintain the minimum age of marriage at 18 is an important development. Similarly, the drafting of a National Plan of Action to End Child Marriage demonstrates that along with its neighbours with similar socio-cultural contexts, such as Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh too is moving ahead on its child rights and gender equality agenda.

Finally, as a vibrant nation with 39 percent of the population under 18, Bangladesh has huge opportunities. To fulfil this potential, the country requires a healthy, educated and strong workforce. It is estimated that nearly 50 percent of Bangladesh's workforce comprises of women - an asset for the nation. 

Young Bangladeshi girls must be provided with life skills, relevant education, vocational training and access to health care to ensure that they can positively contribute to the country's economy and their own future. If a large segment of this productive young population is lost to child marriage and early motherhood, the country will lose out on a substantial workforce who could contribute to the country's development.

As partners of the Government of Bangladesh, on the first anniversary of Girl Summit, we reiterate the importance of investing in girls and boys, particularly focusing on tackling critical child rights violations such as child marriage, helping to ensure a rights-based and more equitable Bangladesh where children have better life chances.

The writers are Country Representative, DFID-Bangladesh, and Representative, UNICEF Bangladesh, respectively.