Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

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BMJ Publishing Group, BMJ Paediatrics Open, 1(5), p. e001328, 2021

DOI: 10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001328

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COVID-19 and child marriage in Bangladesh: emergency call to action

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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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.