Childhood at Risk: The Overlooked SRHR Crisis Behind Child Labour in Bangladesh
A rights-based lens on gender, menstrual health, and adolescent SRHR in Bangladesh
Every child deserves a future — free from labour, full of rights.
🔎 Knowledge for Change | Justice for Every Adolescent
📅 World Day Against Child Labour
The Scale of the Problem
Child labour in Bangladesh is not only an economic or social issue—it is a public health and human rights crisis. According to the National Child Labour Survey 2022 by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and ILO, over 3.45 million children aged 5–17 are currently engaged in child labour. This means nearly 1 in 10 children are missing out on their right to education, health, and safety.
Half of these working children are between 12 and 14 years old—the very age when access to school-based sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) education is crucial. Instead, many find themselves in fields, factories, and homes, disconnected from vital SRHR information and services.
Girls make up nearly 48% of the child labour force, yet they are often invisible in official statistics. Many are employed in domestic work, home-based garment production, or informal street vending—unregulated sectors that leave them vulnerable to abuse, sexual exploitation, and health neglect.
“I work 12 hours a day in someone’s house. I don’t have time or permission to buy pads. I tear up old clothes,”
— 14-year-old domestic worker, Khulna
(Source: UNICEF Bangladesh 2021; Ain o Salish Kendra Case Files)
Child Labour and Child Marriage: A Vicious Cycle
For many adolescent girls, child labour leads directly to school dropout, and then to child marriage. Working girls face long hours, limited mobility, and the weight of domestic responsibilities. Many families see marriage not only as a form of “protection” but also as a way to ease economic burdens or avoid perceived “risks” of harassment.
“I was married off after I missed work for two days due to menstrual cramps,”
— 15-year-old brickfield worker, Rangpur
(Source: KII, BLAST Legal Aid Desk, 2023)
Girls married early face heightened risks of early pregnancy, intimate partner violence, and lack of access to SRHR services. Most have no knowledge of contraception or maternal health—information they are denied both at home and in the workplace.
Even after marriage, stigma continues:
“They told me I was too young to ask about these things,”
— 16-year-old married girl, Narayanganj
(Source: CSID/Share-Net Youth Dialogue Summary, 2024)
🛑 The result: A cycle of silence, stigma, and SRHR denial.
Menstrual Health and Hidden Injustice
Menstruation is a natural part of adolescence. Yet for girls in child labour, it is often a source of shame, pain, and health risks.
🔹 Only 1 in 3 working girls in informal sectors have access to sanitary pads.
🔹 Most rely on old cloths, paper, or rags due to cost, stigma, or lack of access.
🔹 Informal workplaces rarely provide clean, gender-segregated toilets or safe water.
“I used rags at the factory and hid it from my supervisor. There was no bathroom.”
— 15-year-old garment worker, Dhaka slum
(Source: BRAC Adolescent Survey 2023; Naripokkho KII 2024)
Without school-based MHM (menstrual hygiene management) education or community outreach, these girls manage menstruation in isolation—putting their physical and mental health at risk.
❗ Menstruation is natural. Dignity should be non-negotiable.
Why Are SRHR Services Failing Working Children?
Working adolescents—especially girls—face multiple, intersecting barriers to accessing SRHR services:
🔸 Isolation from peer networks and education
🔸 Exclusion from NGO and government programs targeting in-school adolescents
🔸 Stigma from service providers who perceive them as “immoral” or “undeserving”
“They asked why a working girl needs these things,”
— 16-year-old garment worker, Narayanganj
(Source: BNPS Case Study, 2022)
According to BRAC (2022), less than 10% of working adolescents surveyed had heard of adolescent-friendly health corners (AFHCs).
⚠️ These are not just gaps—they are systemic failures that violate the rights of working children to access health, dignity, and information.
What Can We Do?
Real change requires real inclusion. Here’s what works—and what’s needed:
🔹 Include child labourers in adolescent SRHR and MHM programmes
Tailored mobile outreach, peer educators, and home-based counselling are proven to reach working adolescents. The Kishori Clinic Initiative in Gazipur piloted evening outreach for domestic workers with positive impact.
(Source: Population Council, 2021)
🔹 Support flexible education with SRHR
Bridge schools by BRAC and UCEP integrate menstrual health and life skills, helping girls reintegrate into formal learning.
(Source: BRAC Education Program, 2023)
🔹 Train providers in trauma- and child-sensitive care
Stigma and moral judgment from health workers must end. Share-Net Bangladesh’s training with youth advocates in 2024 showed clear improvements in trust and service uptake.
(Source: Share-Net Bangladesh Youth Reflection Report, 2024)
🔹 Foster cross-sector collaboration
Program silos between education, labour, and health leave girls behind. A pilot in Rangpur brought together schools, factories, and clinics to deliver SRHR and MHM services jointly.
(Source: SNBD-UNFPA SRHR Policy Brief, 2023)
Call to Action: Restore Rights. Reclaim Futures.
🛑 It’s not enough to stop child labour.
✅ We must also restore what has been lost—childhood, education, dignity, and health.
📣 This World Day Against Child Labour, we call on:
🔹 Policymakers to fund inclusive SRHR and MHM outreach
🔹 Service providers to treat all adolescents with care—regardless of work status
🔹 Communities and families to delay early marriage and support education
🔹 You to share, speak up, and act for every child’s right to safety, knowledge, and freedom
References & Sources:
- National Child Labour Survey (NCLS) 2022 –
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) & International Labour Organization (ILO)
https://bbs.portal.gov.bd - UNICEF Bangladesh (2021) –
Reports on child marriage, adolescent SRHR access, and working girls’ health vulnerabilities.
https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh - WaterAid Bangladesh (2022) –
Menstrual Hygiene Management in Informal Workplaces Survey Report
https://www.wateraid.org/bd - BRAC Adolescent Survey (2023) –
Internal findings on menstrual health and SRHR access among out-of-school adolescents
https://www.brac.net - BNPS (2022) –
“Adolescent Girls, Labour and MHM” Study
https://www.bnps.org - Plan International (2021) –
Adolescent SRHR and Early Marriage: Regional Insights
https://plan-international.org - BLAST Legal Aid Desk, Rangpur (2023) –
Key Informant Interviews (KII) on child labour and marriage triggers - Share-Net Bangladesh & CSID Youth Reflection Dialogue (2024) –
Youth-led findings on SRHR stigma, peer exclusion, and service denial
https://www.share-netbangladesh.org - Population Council Bangladesh (2021) –
Evaluation of the Kishori Clinic Initiative for working adolescents - SNBD-UNFPA SRHR Policy Brief (2023) –
Recommendations for cross-sector adolescent SRHR integration
📍 Share-Net Bangladesh | Together for equity, dignity, and informed choice
📌 #EndChildLabour | #SRHRforAll | #LeaveNoOneBehind
