Bangladesh
Our work in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is composed of 150 million people living tightly together. Bangladesh is a lower-middle-income country. One in four people lack enough money for food, clothing or shelter. One in ten suffers from extreme poverty.
We fight against child exploitation in Bangladesh. We establish child protection mechanisms and empower children to fight for their rights. We lobby with governments and other agencies for systemic changes to strengthen child protection. We also ensure access to education, legal support and medical care.
Latest News
The Global Research Agenda
On February 1 2024, the Terre des Hommes Netherlands Global Research Agenda was launched, which will guide our…
Our One Stop Digital Service Centre against trafficking in Bangladesh
There are numerous children who are at risk of trafficking and migration in Keraniganj, a hotspot of Banglades…
How Aisha and her Family Received a Second Chance
As defined by the OHCHR, trafficking in persons refers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbourin…
Ravina couldn’t finish school - but this is how she’s making sure her daughters will
24-year-old Ravina comes from a marginalised family in the Gogaura Village in the north-east of Bangladesh. He…
Recovering boyhood: how Rakib went back to school and became an advocate against child marriage
When Rakib was 19, he had just passed his secondary and higher secondary examinations with distinction, and he…
Fighting against taboos to improve Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Bangladesh
With the support of the Nuffic Orange Knowledge Programme, Terre des Hommes Netherlands has been implementing…
Annual report 2018
Thanks to your support, in 2018 we were able to work on tackling child labor in the mica mines in India, child…
Background
Bangladesh is very vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, storm surge, earthquake and tsunami. Cyclones and floods in particular cause massive damage affecting millions of lives and livelihoods every year. Additionally, the country is home to one of the largest refugee populations, with more than 884,000 Rohingya people living in camps and shelters in Cox's Bazar. Many of these shelters and camps are extremely congested and located in dangerous flood and landslide-prone areas. Access to essential services, including protection, health and wash are major challenges.
Child labour in Bangladesh
Education is crucial in a country with so much poverty. It offers children who must work the chance for a better life. That is why our main focus is getting children to school.
About 7.2 million children work in Bangladesh, notably in Dhaka and Chittagong. They are no older than 14. Almost one in six does dangerous work, which the government does not regulate. This so-called informal economy includes collecting waste, working in car factories and chemical workshops, hauling work in the harbour and serving as driver’s assistants.
We provide children the chance to learn professional skills. And we make sure that as many unemployed children as possible finish school. They have a right to.
We also work with companies to improve safety and education of children who do work there. In hopes that fewer children are exploited, our campaigns publicise the disadvantages of child labour.
Sexual exploitation
An estimated 30,000 girls are sexually exploited in Bangladesh. Many work in brothels. The rest work out of parking lots, bus stations and parks as well as online. Bangladesh has 18 official red light districts. The children who grow up there know no better. Many boys become pimps. Girls follow their mothers to become sex workers, often before age 12.
Terre des Hommes provides victims of sexual exploitation medical care and legal support. We help children finish their education, so they learn a professional skill and get the chance to find other work.
In Bangladesh, searches for sex with girls occur online, too. Collaborating with internet and telephone companies, we work towards better protection from online exploitation.
We educate communities and help institutions better attend to children. We encourage governments to comply better with laws. Stop child exploitation in Bangladesh. Join our fight.
Child trafficking and migration in Bangladesh
Children in Bangladesh who roam the streets or are fleeing face great risk. They are often picked up by traffickers and sold. They do heavy, unhealthy and dangerous work – unpaid.
We provide these children a safe place. We carry out a lot of actions, calling their situation to the attention of police, lawyers and judges so they better protect children.
We also have extensive contact with national government and other agencies. We urge them to modify their policies, pass laws against human trafficking and, specifically, child trafficking.
Sexual and reproductive health and rights in Bangladesh
Talking about sex and sexuality is a major taboo in Bangladesh. This makes it hard to tackle various problems. People think that sexual frankness leads to more premarital sex. Early pregnancies, child marriages and medical and psychological problems related to sexual abuse are poorly handled. Almost no services exist to help victims.
We empower child brides, children born in brothels and girls from the poorest groups of the population, the Dalit caste. We encourage them to stand up for themselves. We provide sexual and reproductive healthcare and remind them of their right to experience sexuality healthily and safely. For example, we urge them to decide for themselves if and when they want children.
We are also working to change mentalities. We do this through awareness-raising that is culturally appropriate yet aims to end child marriages, abuse and forced pregnancies.
When it comes to sexuality, everyone has the right to make their own decisions. Join our fight. Stop the sexual exploitation of children in Bangladesh.
Humanitarian Action
In the past, Terre des Hommes worked in the Cox's Bazar refugee camps and with the host communities. We offered emergency aid to Rohingya children and their families fleeing violence in Myanmar.
Being one of the key emergency response actors, Terre des Hommes enhanced the safety and dignity of refugees and host communities in Cox's Bazar providing multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance including child protection and health. Key activities included strengthening access to quality Essential Package of Health Services at the public health centres for refugee and host communities, ensuring critical access to the Fecal Sludge Management system; and strengthening access to quality, gender-sensitive Child Protection services for at-risk boys and girls, including Case Management and Psycho-Social Support services for refugee and host communities.
We did humanitarian action through partnership and generous support from the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO).
Our programmes
Completed
Addressing child trafficking in Bangladesh
Child trafficking in Bangladesh has been on the rise in recent years, partly as a result of the COVID-19 pande…
Completed
Capacity building of early married girls in Bangladesh
Being a girl in Bangladesh is a difficult reality as it has one of highest rates of early marriage in the worl…
Ongoing
Down to Zero
Millions of children worldwide are sexually exploited, both online and offline. And this number continues to g…
Our partners in Bangladesh
Together with experienced partners we are working towards a world without child exploitation, where young people can feel safe today and better about tomorrow. Join our fight.
Our Country Representative
Mahmudul Kabir is the Country Manager for Terre des Hommes Netherlands in Bangladesh. He has dedicated 40 years of his life to providing support to people in his country, especially children. Kabir is leading his team in implementing projects and programmes that benefit the most vulnerable children and those who are exploited.
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