We welcome the commitments made by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Girl Summit last year and in New York in September to end marriage under the age 15 by 2021 and under 18 by 2041. We expect the age of marriage to be maintained at 18.

Alongside other Donor Partners and NGOs we continue to discuss with the Government of Bangladesh our concerns regarding the legislation, including the possibility of an exception clause that might allow marriage below 18 in certain circumstances, with the aim of ensuring that the public commitments at the UK Girl Summit are maintained. Meanwhile, we are working with other parts of HMG and donor partners to press for improved implementation of policies that protect and promote the status of women and girls. Activities to tackle inequality and promote empowerment are embedded across all of our wider programmes.

At the heart of the UK’s strategy in Bangladesh is the recognition that empowering girls and women is the key to reducing poverty and driving sustainable economic growth. Combined with an improved enabling environment which makes girls and women feel secure at home or at work, this allows women to reach their full potential, resulting in job creation and higher incomes for women, as well as improved access to more efficiently produced goods and services.

UK aid funds the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) which we work in partnership with to promote the rights of women and children in the religious legal system in Bangladesh. For example, since 2009, MJF have advocated for the enactment of the Hindu Marriage Act, which was passed in 2012, and further strengthening of the law which would give the wife rights over her husband’s property and thus impact her economic situation. MJF and its partners are also working at a local level to mobilise communities to make use of the law.

We are delighted that the Girl Summit has accelerated international momentum on ending FGM and Child, Early and Forced Marriage. We have already seen follow-up events take place in Uganda, Bangladesh and Ethiopia and the African Union plan to host a Girl Summit later this year. Since the 2014 Girl Summit, the Department for International Development has focused on delivering the UK Government’s commitment to supporting an end to FGM and Child, Early and Forced Marriage globally, through its £35million programme on ending FGM and the recently launched £36million programme to accelerate action to end Child marriage.

Domestically, a number of measures have been taken to strengthen the law on FGM through the Serious Crime Act, £1.6million has been committed for the next stage of the Department of Health’s FGM prevention programme, and an FGM Unit has been established and commenced a programme of outreach.

The Girl Summit, co-hosted with UNICEF in London in July 2014, secured over 180 commitments, including 43 governments. We are working with UNICEF to follow up with governments and other participants on progress since the Summit. A summary of these achievements will be available for the anniversary of the Summit.

Over the last year the UK Government has also been working with UN partners, civil society and national Governments, including the Government of Bangladesh, to support countries to implement these commitments. Bangladesh held its own Girl Summit in October 2014, are making legal revisions to the 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act and finalising the National Plan of Action for Ending Child Marriage.

Since the Girl Summit in London in 2014, the Department for International Development has focused on delivering the UK Government’s commitment to ending FGM and Child, Early and Forced Marriage through its flagship £35 million FGM programme and recently launched £36 million programme to accelerate action to end Child marriage. DFID will co-host an event with the Canadian High Commission to mark the first anniversary of the Girl Summit and will produce, together with UNICEF a stocktake of global progress over the past year in working to end FGM and Child, Early and Forced marriage.

Progress on our domestic commitments includes a range of measures to significantly strengthen the law on FGM through the Serious Crime Act, a further £1.6 million for the next stage of the Department of Health’s FGM prevention programme, and a programme of outreach by the Government’s FGM Unit.

Since the London Girl Summit in 2014, the Government of Bangladesh has made progress on tackling the issue of child marriage. It is in the process of revising the Child Marriage Restraint Act to, for example, include tougher sanctions to improve enforcement. It is also in the process of finalising a 5 year National Plan of Action for Ending Child Marriage.

The UK Government continues to raise with the Government of Bangladesh our concerns regarding proposals to lower the legal age of marriage, including through Ministerial meetings and regular representations by the British High Commissioner and DFID officials.

Since the London Girl Summit in 2014, the Government of Bangladesh has made progress on tackling the issue of child marriage. It is in the process of revising the Child Marriage Restraint Act to, for example, include tougher sanctions to improve enforcement. It is also in the process of finalising a 5 year National Plan of Action for Ending Child Marriage.

The UK Government continues to raise with the Government of Bangladesh our concerns regarding proposals to lower the legal age of marriage, including through Ministerial meetings and regular representations by the British High Commissioner and DFID officials.

Since the London Girl Summit in 2014, the Government of Bangladesh has made progress on tackling the issue of child marriage. It is in the process of revising the Child Marriage Restraint Act to, for example, include tougher sanctions to improve enforcement. It is also in the process of finalising a 5 year National Plan of Action for Ending Child Marriage.

The UK Government continues to raise with the Government of Bangladesh our concerns regarding proposals to lower the legal age of marriage, including through Ministerial meetings and regular representations by the British High Commissioner and DFID officials.