From Laws to Lives: The Struggle to Protect Child Rights in Bangladesh
Bangladesh improves in child rights ranking but struggles with weak law enforcement, child labor, and deprivation. True progress needs stronger protection, as safeguarding children is a national duty.
শিশু অধিকারের ক্ষেত্রে বাংলাদেশের অগ্রগতি মিশ্র। আইনি সংস্কার এবং দক্ষিণ এশিয়ায় শিশু অধিকারের উন্নত র্যাঙ্কিং সত্ত্বেও, দুর্বল বাস্তবায়ন, শিশুশ্রম, সহিংসতা এবং প্রয়োজনীয় জিনিসপত্রের অভাব অবহেলার বিষয়টি প্রকাশ করে। শিশু সুরক্ষা দায়িত্ব, কোনো দয়া নয়।
In Bangladesh, millions of children are still deprived of their basic rights such as safe shelter, proper nutrition, healthcare, quality education, and protection from violence, even though child rights laws exist. The Children Act 2013, drafted in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), promised to safeguard these rights by defining every individual under 18 as a child. Yet, gaps in enforcement, conflicting legal definitions of “child,” and lack of implementation have left many children vulnerable. Addressing issues such as child labor, sexual violence, lack of juvenile courts, and environmental threats remains crucial if Bangladesh is to fulfill its commitment under national and international child rights frameworks.
The Netherlands-based KidsRights organization, in collaboration with Erasmus University Rotterdam, has been publishing the 'KidsRights Index' every year since 2013, which is the world's first and only index on children's rights. It measures how children’s rights are respected worldwide and how committed countries are to improving children's rights. This index covers States that have ratified the UNCRC, and a total of 194 countries are part of the index as of 2025.
The index is based on a total of 20 criteria divided into five domains: the right to life, health, education, protection, and an enabling environment for child rights. Countries are given different scores in these domains based on data published by UNICEF and monitoring reports adopted by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. An analysis of reports published by the KidsRights Index from 2013 to 2025 shows that Bangladesh's position has changed significantly in the last decade. In the first report of 2013, Bangladesh was ranked 118th with a score of 550. In 2014, Bangladesh ranked 116th, while in 2023, Bangladesh was ranked 102nd with a score of 697. In the latest report of 2025, Bangladesh has ranked 93rd among 194 countries with a score of 687. Among the neighboring countries of South Asia, India is ranked 96th, Nepal 122nd, Myanmar 126th, Bhutan 134th, Sri Lanka 151st, Pakistan 155th, and Afghanistan 194th. This latest report shows that Bangladesh is doing far better in terms of children’s rights in the South Asian region.
Despite initial observations suggesting an improvement in Bangladesh's situation, the index of 2025 conveys a different message, as Bangladesh achieved its highest score and the best ranking in 2017. In that year, Bangladesh was ranked 87th with a score of 713. This score indicates a significant deterioration in the overall quality of child rights in Bangladesh in the following years. Moreover, the Children Act 2013 reflected some provisions of the UNCRC and raised the age of children from 16 to 18. However, no initiative has been taken to harmonize the definition of 'child' in various national laws, and no rules have been formulated to implement the Act. As a result, this Act is still not implemented in practice and is losing its credibility.
The most striking aspect of the Children Act 2013 is that this law does not actually mention any rights of children nor create any new rights for children, but rather states what kind of protection a child should be brought under if they come into contact or conflict with the law. In other words, the main concern of the law is how to protect the best interests of a child when he commits an act against the law and bring him on the path of correction instead of punishment. However, the law does not mention any civil rights of the child, i.e., social, political, or economic rights. Although the law mentions a separate children's court, in an interview given to DW in 2023, one Supreme Court lawyer said that in reality, there is no separate children's court in Bangladesh, which results in their cruel treatment. Moreover, the law is abused by adult criminals who are taking advantage by forming juvenile gangs.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has 54 articles that define various civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of a child. The basic rights of a child include education, balanced food, health and nutrition, protection, participation, recreation, safe water, sanitation, and hygiene. Nonetheless, research shows that due to poverty, ignorance, lack of social consciousness, and discrimination, these child rights are being violated in Bangladesh, and most children are deprived of food, shelter, adequate sanitation, information, and education. In addition, a 2023 UNICEF report shows that children in Bangladesh are at the highest risk of being severely affected by climate and environmental shocks and pressures. Additionally, due to inconsistencies in the laws, many provisions mentioned in the Children Act cannot be implemented in practice, one of which is the inability to conduct speedy trials.
Article 28(4) of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh empowers the State to make special provisions in favor of women or children, and Bangladesh adopted the National Child Policy in 2011. The main principles under it are to ensure the rights of the child in light of the Constitution of Bangladesh, the Children Act and international conventions, to eradicate child poverty, to eliminate all forms of abuse and discrimination against children especially girl child, and to participate and receive children's opinions on measures taken to ensure the overall protection and best interests of the child. A law called the National Child Rights Commission Act was drafted in 2018 to implement these policies and protect the fundamental human rights of children under the Constitution, but it has not yet been enacted.
The Women and Children Repression Prevention Act of 2000 was enacted to strictly suppress violence and torturous crimes against women and children. However, reports published in various newspapers say that 8,832 children have been victims of violence from September 2018 to June 2023. In the last five years, 2,590 children have been killed, 3,596 have been raped, and 580 have been physically abused. However, it is feared that the actual number is much higher. This data is enough to raise serious questions about the effectiveness of the 2000 law.
On the other hand, despite the prohibition of child labor under Section 34 of the Bangladesh Labor Act 2006, the number of child laborers in the country has increased by about 100,000 in the last 10 years. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics' National Child Labor Survey-2022 report, the number of children engaged in hazardous child labor in the country is 1,068,212.
Although the above-mentioned data portrays a negative picture of child rights in Bangladesh, various reports say that children in Bangladesh are doing better than those in neighboring countries, which is also reflected in the KidsRights Index. Still, there are many opportunities for the development of child rights in Bangladesh, as the country cannot afford to let its children slip through the cracks of weak laws and broken promises. It has to be kept in mind that children are the future of the nation, and protecting their rights is not a charity—rather, it is the nation’s duty.
About the author
Rabeya Dewan is a Lecturer at the Department of Law, Uttara University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has completed her LLB and LLM (International Crime and Justice) from Jahangirnagar University. Her research focuses on human rights, environmental issues, and state responsibility. She can be reached at rabeya.dewan@uttarauniversity.edu.bd
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect The Insighta's editorial stance. However, any errors in the stated facts or figures may be corrected if supported by verifiable evidence. | A guest post by
|
Take LOVE from Uttara University