About 83 per cent of women in Bangladesh get married as per their parents 'or other relatives' decisions, according to a study conducted in 2014.
The survey said about 24 per cent got married by the age of 15 and 77 per cent by the age of 18.
This information was revealed in a seminar on Child Marriage in Bangladesh: Current Situation and Potential Remedies organised by East West University at their own campus in the capital's Aftabnagar on Thursday.
The keynote presenters of the seminar were Prof Niaz Asadullah, University of Malaya, Malaysia, and Associate Prof Zaki Wahhaj, University of Kent, UK. They did the study titled Women's Life Choices and Attitudes Survey over 6,000 women, aged between 20 and 39 years, living across 64 districts of Bangladesh, said a press release.
According to the researchers, developed countries have functional courts, transparent birth and marriage registration system, life skills training at school, a culture of dialogue at home and child rights protection agencies at the community level.
They recommended improving the capacity of adolescent girls to exercise their own choices in marriage.
Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor was chief guest and Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Women and Children Affairs Mahbub Ara Begum Gini was present as special guest with Chairperson, EWU Board of Trustees, and former governor, Bangladesh Bank, Dr Mohammed Farashuddin in the chair.