Share-Net Bangladesh implemented the Share-Net International Rapid Improvement Model (SHIRIM) on Knowledge Translation from 2017-2019. This booklet is a part of Share-Net Bangladesh’s Knowledge Collaborative and is entitled ‘Highlights of an initiative addressing Child Marriage in Bangladesh.’ The booklet brings forward the methods adopted by nine organisations who are working directly and indirectly to spread awareness against child marriage among the masses, the achievements and outcomes of their projects, the challenges they face and their future plans to eradicate child marriage in Bangladesh. The booklet translated the tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge by interviewing experts who are actively working on addressing child marriage issues in Bangladesh.

Initiatives Addressing Child Marriage in Bangladesh

“Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage in South Asia, and the fourth highest in the world. In 2017, half of the girls in Bangladesh were married before their 18th birthday. The rate of child marriage in the country still remains one of the highest, in spite of the fact that the numbers have reduced when compared to previous data. The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and UNICEF Bangladesh have jointly launched the National Plan of Action (NPA), whose goal is to eradicate child marriage completely by the year 2041 and eliminate the marriage of girls below 15 years by 2021.

According to UNICEF, “Child Marriage is defined as “the marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18 and refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married.” According to Stemming Girls’ Chronic Poverty, Chronic Poverty Research Centre, 2010, child marriage is “any marriage carried out below the age of 18 years, before the girl is physically, physiologically and psychologically ready to shoulder the responsibilities of marriage and childbearing.” Child marriage prevails in Bangladesh because of the following reasons: Honour, Poverty, Dowry, Social Pressure.”

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Title: Highlights of Initiatives Addressing Child Marriage in Bangladesh

Publication date: 2020