The Child Bill 2013 is supposed to be in harmony with the CRC and recognises that an individual below 18 is a child. Why then do we still have child marriages? Why then do we have little children working in homes, in biri factories, in garbage dumps and tanneries?

A new draft law proposed by the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs recommends that although the minimum age for marriage for girls should remain 18, a special provision in the law will allow parents to marry off their daughters at 16 if there are justifiable reasons for doing so.

The government of Bangladesh is presently contemplating a move that would permit girls to marry at 16 with parental consent and/or approval from courts.