Child's Rights

Bangladesh being an over populated country has its fare share of neglect towards the child care services and other specific legislation pertaining to protecting children from harm, abuse, exploitation and other such hindrances that may be faced by them in their daily lives. Therefore, the issues regarding children in Bangladesh are so vital that those should not be neglected at all. In spite of having or claiming to have a stable and growing economy, more than half of the children in Bangladesh are living below the international poverty line.

Many of the children in Bangladesh face abuse on a daily basis which may be from their teachers, school seniors, classmates, relatives or even their own parents. Such practices have resulted in many of the children getting physically or emotionally scarred and even losing their lives in extreme cases. JWF hopes to fight for these children’s rights and help them in whatever way possible, whether it be through litigation, awareness programs or any other means. Some of the laws which the Bangladesh government has enacted in protecting the rights of Children are:

Children's Act, 2013: Act to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Act changes the legal definition of a child from being a person under the age of 14 to one under the age of 18. It criminalizes any kind of cruelty inflicted on children while they are working in both the formal and informal sectors. In addition, the Act will prescribe punishments for using or exploiting children in begging, in brothels, and in carrying drugs, arms, or other illegal commodities.

Penal Code 1860: The legal provision through which the age and general exceptions are provided for children & juveniles under the Criminal Court system in the country. The act also plays an active role in protecting the rights of children from exploitation, abuse and other similar criminal offences to which they may fall victim.