The Girls
of the Bay

Bangladesh has the highest rate (29%) in the world of marriage among girls under 15, according to UNICEF. It also has the fourth-highest prevalence rate of child marriage involving minors, after Niger, the Central African Republic, and Chad.

In February 2017, the Parliament of Bangladesh passed a new regulation, the Child Marriage Restraint Act, which imposes prison sentences and fines on adults who marry minors, parents who promote such marriages, and people who formalize the act. However, this ruling includes a controversial loophole that allows child marriage in “special cases.”