Peer-reviewed article
COVID-19 and child marriage in Bangladesh: emergency call to action
Md. Jamal Hossain, Mahfuza Afroz Soma, Md. Sazzadul Bari, Talha Bin Emran, Md. Rabiul Islam ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001Child marriage in Bangladesh increased by at least 13% during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by school closures, financial hardship, and social insecurity. The report calls for urgent government action to address this growing crisis. Many cases of early marriage remain unreported, making the true scale of the problem unknown.
Key points
- Child marriage prevalence increased by at least 13% due to pandemic-enforced school closures
- Multiple cases remain unreported
- Main triggering factors: financial crisis, prolonged school shutdowns, and social insecurities
- The report calls for concerted and integrated government action
Limitations
This is a brief report drawing on available sources rather than presenting original research, so it does not provide detailed methodological information or quantify the unreported cases. The document does not differentiate impacts by age, gender, or region within Bangladesh.
Abstract
The social burden of Bangladesh's already prevalent child marriage problem has further flared up amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to briefly report on the current scenario of underage marriage in Bangladesh from available sources and highlight concerns. The prevalence of child marriage has increased by at least 13% due to pandemic-enforced long-term school closure throughout the country, while many cases remain unreported. Exacerbated financial crisis, the prolonged shutdown of educational institutions and social insecurities are the principal triggering factors for such a high pace of child marriages. We urge the government and local administrations to address the current situation through concerted and integrated efforts to combat the early marriage crisis in Bangladesh.