It is nothing short of alarming to know just how prevalent the practice of child marriage still is in Bangladesh, as it continues to grapple with the alarming reality of a practice that has endured despite legal prohibitions and decades of effort to curb it.
To this end, the recently released State of World Population 2025 report published by UNFPA paints an expectedly grim picture: 51% of Bangladeshi girls were married before turning 18 between 2006 and 2024, making our country the most affected in South Asia. While this issue is often framed as a social and moral dilemma, it is equally an economic crisis as it also threatens our nation’s prospects of long-term prosperity.
The consequences of child marriage extend far beyond individual families. A generation of girls forced into early marriage is a generation deprived of education, skill development, and the opportunity to participate meaningfully in the workforce. When girls are pulled out of school to enter marriage, the country loses a crucial segment of its potential labour force, hampering innovation and economic growth.
Similarly, allowing child marriage to perpetuate further fuels inter-generational cycles of poverty as young brides are often forced into early motherhood, leading to higher maternal mortality rates and significant healthcare burdens -- the financial strain of frequent pregnancies and inadequate healthcare weakens families economically, making it nearly impossible for them to break free from poverty.
There are no two ways about it: Bangladesh has no choice but to eradicate child marriage entirely. The interim government needs to be on the pulse of this issue better than past governments and move beyond rhetoric and enforce stricter legal measures, ensuring that local authorities, community leaders, and families respect the legal age of marriage.
The longer child marriage persists, the more the country forfeits its potential for growth and progress. The world at large has realized just how imperative it is to invest in girls’ futures, and Bangladesh has far too long fallen behind -- it is no longer a choice for us.
