UNICEF and UNFPA have joined forces to launch the Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage. The Global Programme will:
- Empower adolescent girls at risk of, and affected by, marriage.
- Work with families and communities to promote positive behaviours towards girls.
- Ensure that health, education, protection and other systems are responsive to the needs of girls.
- Support governments in creating a positive legal and policy environment in relation to child marriage.
- Use and build the data and evidence on what works to end child marriage.
Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage in Asia – and the fourth highest rate of child marriage in the world. Marriage is illegal for girls under the age of 18 and for boys under 21, with exemptions that allow for marriage with special permission. However, almost three out of five young women were married as children, with more than one in five married by the age of 15 in 2014.
