Across Bangladesh, young people are eager to contribute to decisions that shape their lives and communities. Yet many – especially those from marginalized groups –are trying to find trusted, and effective ways to make their voices heard. To help address this, the UNESCO led the coordination of a nationwide effort to explore how youth participation can be strengthened and formally built into public decision‑making. Working with UN agencies, national consultants, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS), UNESCO ensured that the process remained inclusive, coherent and aligned with national priorities.UNESCO stands with young people across Bangladesh to ensure their voices are not only heard, but built into the decisions that shape their lives. Working with national partners and the UN system, we are helping move from one-off consultations to lasting mechanisms that make participation inclusive and meaningful. Our commitment is clear: youth engagement must be part of how public decisions are made, not an exception to it. Khaled El-EnanyUNESCO Director-General A national youth survey, five regional workshops, and 14 focus group discussions brought together young people from all eight regions of Bangladesh. Rather than being asked simply to answer questions, they joined a co‑design process facilitated by UNESCO, helping to shape the proposed Youth Voice Mechanism (YVM). Particular efforts were made to include youth from ethnic minorities, tea‑estate workers, slum youth, young women, persons with disabilities, and gender‑diverse youth –ensuring that those who are usually left out were central to the discussion. UNESCO staff were present throughout consultations and focus group discussions, engaging directly and first‑hand with participants and helping to create spaces where sensitive issues could be shared openly.This is the first time we were invited not just to talk about problems, but to design solutions together.Youth participant, SylhetThe overarching aim was to develop a structured and long-term approach that ensures young people have a real say in decision-making processes. UNESCO supported the mapping of existing levels of youth participation, trust, and institutional responsiveness, while helping identify the social and structural barriers that continue to affect marginalized groups. The emerging Youth Voice Mechanism (YVM) model is rooted in evidence generated directly by young people and informed by international good practices, with strong attention to gender, accessibility, and accountability.The resulting YVM framework offers a practical way for young people to raise concerns related to livelihoods, safety, public services and dignity, and to channel them into formal decision‑making systems. Over time, a mechanism like this has the potential to reduce the need for crisis‑driven protests and encourage more continuous, constructive engagement between youth and state institutions Looking ahead, the next phase will involve piloting the Youth Voice Mechanism in different geographic and social contexts, testing how well it supports inclusivity, safety and responsiveness in real governance settings. As the mechanism develops, UNESCO’s leadership will remain central in ensuring that youth perspectives are systematically integrated into policy planning, service delivery, and accountability processes. 

For many women and girls, violence can seep through something as small as a phone screen. An unwanted text, a fake image or unhinged words.  It follows them onto their phones, into their social media feeds, and into the private digital spaces where they hoped to feel safe. This year’s 16 Days of Activism focuses on digital violence. A growing form of harm that shapes how women learn, work, and express themselves online.Across the world, online abuse has become one of the fastest-rising forms of gender-based violence. UN studies show that women, especially young women, face far higher levels of harassment, threats, and non-consensual image sharing than men. WHO reminds us that one in three women will experience some form of violence in their lifetime. A 2023 UN study found that women, particularly young women and activists, are 27 times more likely to be harassed online than men. Today, many of those experiences are happening behind screens, often hidden from family and community support. In Bangladesh, digital violence has taken on new urgency as more young people connect to the internet. Girls are often the first to feel the risks—fake accounts, threatening messages, pressure for photos, and the fear of being shamed online. In remote areas, these fears are even sharper. The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) has seen a quiet rise in online harassment, especially among indigenous girls who have limited access to digital literacy and fewer places to seek help. One teacher in Rangamati explained it simply, “Our girls are excited to use phones. But they don’t always feel safe. They know the danger, even when they cannot name it.”To respond to this growing concern, the Ecosystems Restoration Resilient Development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (ERRD-CHT) Project, with support from Global Affairs Canada and the European Union, launched the 16 Days of Activism campaign across the region. It aims to raise awareness about both digital and traditional gender-based violence, teach young people how to stay safe online, and bring communities together to support women and girls.Since 25 November 2025, the campaign has reached 3,959 people. This includes 2,672 women and girls and 1,287 men and boys, showing strong engagement from both groups. Students from 24 schools and colleges joined rallies, art competitions, debates, and digital safety sessions. Community members and traditional leaders gathered to discuss how online behaviour affects real lives. Many heard the term “digital violence” for the first time. During a poster-writing session in Khagrachhari, a college student said, “I thought harassment only meant someone touching you. Now I understand that a message can hurt too.”Others shared stories they had kept quiet for years. A young Marma girl whispered after a session, “I was scared to talk about what happened to me online. Today I learned it was not my fault.”Men and boys also took part, discussing their roles in creating safer spaces. A father in Bandarban reflected, “We must guide our sons. What they say online matters. It can protect a girl or break her confidence.”Reproductive Health Care Workers are also helping extend the campaign’s reach by sharing key messages with students and Mothers Club members in schools and colleges. Local police officers are visiting selected schools to talk directly with young people about the 16 Days of Activism, available support services, and how victim support centres operate.Across six upazilas, Local Volunteer Mediators Forums and youth groups are hosting events to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, bringing together teachers, education officers, students, mothers’ groups, and RHCWs to strengthen community awareness and collective action.Through simple materials, participatory learning, and strong collaboration with local authorities, the campaign is helping communities recognise digital harm and stand against it.The message from CHT is safety must include the digital world. When women and girls feel safe online, they can study, lead, and dream without fear. Ending digital violence is not only a campaign. It is a promise of dignity and a step toward equality for everyone.I was scared to talk about what happened to me online. Today I learned it was not my fault.

Op-ed by Stefan Liller, UN Resident Coordinator a.i. and UNDP Resident Representative in Bangladesh, Catherine Breen Kamkong, UNFPA Representative in Bangladesh and Gitanjali Singh, UN Women Representative in Bangladesh.This year’s International Women’s Day theme, “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls,” is a call to overcome structural barriers that deny women and girls equal access to justice, such as unequal laws, weak enforcement, discriminatory practices and harmful social norms that undermine rights and perpetuate violence.Across the globe, democratic space is narrowing and hard-won gains for gender equality are under pressure. Women and girls continue to face legal and social systems that institutionalise inequality and restrict their access to protection and redress. In 2026, women worldwide enjoy only 64 per cent of the legal rights held by men (World Bank), leaving them disadvantaged in areas ranging from employment and financial security to safety, property ownership and mobility. Without meaningful access to justice, rights remain promises on paper rather than lived realities.In Bangladesh, the experience of survivors underscores the need to further reform protection systems. As one survivor of sexual violence shared: “When I went to seek redress, I felt like the system saw everything except my pain. I kept asking myself: if justice isn’t for women like me, then who is it for? I stayed quiet for years because I thought no one would believe me. Speaking up was the only way for me to survive, but the journey to justice has been harder than the violence itself.” Her words echo the lived realities of many women and girls.The 2024 National Violence Against Women Survey reveals that 54 per cent of women in Bangladesh have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, yet 64 per cent never told anyone. Silence is rarely a choice; it is often a survival strategy shaped by stigma, fear of retaliation, economic dependency and a lack of confidence in formal systems. When survivors do not see a clear, compassionate and effective path to justice, the system itself becomes another source of harm.Recent steps by the Government of Bangladesh to strengthen legal protections are both timely and necessary. New ordinances addressing domestic violence and sexual harassment in workplaces, educational institutions and online spaces, together with commitments to review the Child Marriage Restraint Act, signal a willingness to close systemic gaps. These measures reflect a life-cycle approach to protection, recognising that adolescent girls, young women, women in the home and workplace, women with disabilities, older women and transgender women face different and intersecting risks."Laws, however, only matter if they work for survivors. Justice must be visible, accessible and humane".Access to justice is inseparable from the realisation of women’s rights. Violence against women and girls is both a human rights violation and a public health crisis. Survivors require not only legal remedies but also confidential health services, psychosocial support and quality, survivor-centred case management. The integration of legal assistance with accessible health and social services is essential to ensure a multisectoral response that will enable women and girls to seek help safely and with dignity.Reformed legislation contributes to Bangladesh’s commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goals 5 and 16, as well as international frameworks such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action and ILO Convention 190. These instruments, as well as the Commission on the Status of Women 70 platform, help close legal gaps by expanding definitions, extending protections across physical and digital spaces and acknowledging technology-facilitated gender-based violence. The Cyber Security Ordinance (2025) further strengthens efforts to address online abuse, which disproportionately affects women and girls.At the same time, legal reform must be comprehensive. Certain inequitable provisions within personal laws, dowry-related practices and aspects of rape legislation continue to undermine full equality before the law. Addressing these gaps with urgency and consultation is critical to building a coherent and rights-based legal framework.Laws, however, only matter if they work for survivors. Justice must be visible, accessible and humane. Internal complaint committees must be functional, independent and trusted. Reporting mechanisms must be safe and confidential. Police, health providers, social workers, legal aid services, employers and educational institutions must coordinate effectively to ensure timely referrals and survivor-centred support. Multi-sectoral response systems anchored in trained social service professionals and quality case management must be available to all survivors, regardless of age, marital status, disability, ethnicity, location or gender identity.Adequate financing is equally essential. Legal reforms without resources for implementation, monitoring and oversight risk remaining symbolic. Investment in training for law enforcement, judicial actors, health providers and social workers is critical to ensure that survivors are treated with respect and that cases are handled ethically and efficiently. Strengthened data systems, including those addressing technology-facilitated violence, are necessary to track progress, inform policy and hold institutions accountable. Supporting women’s movements and women’s rights organizations, which have long driven legal reform and accountability, is also needed. Preventing child marriage is also central to advancing justice. Child marriage remains both a driver and a consequence of gender inequality and gender-based violence, cutting short girls’ education, exposing them to early pregnancy, which increases their vulnerability to abuse, and closing the door to future opportunities. Ensuring that the Child Marriage Restraint Act is aligned with international human rights standards and effectively enforced will protect girls’ rights, health and futures.Public awareness and community engagement must accompany legal change. Women, girls and young people need accessible information about their rights and available services and the removal of all barriers to accessing these. Men and boys must be engaged as allies in challenging harmful norms and supporting equality. Community and religious leaders, sports champions, musicians and artists can be powerful in a movement to bring about this change for the women and girls of Bangladesh.
Above all, we must be clear: gender-based violence and child marriage are preventable. Strong laws are powerful instruments for shaping safer, more equal societies when enforced with commitment, care and accountability. Justice is about restoring dignity, rebuilding trust and ensuring that every woman and girl can live free from fear.The United Nations, including UNFPA and UN Women, stands firmly with the women and girls, men and boys of Bangladesh, calling for the conservation and extension of gains made and for translating commitments into action. Together, we can ensure equality in law and in practice, so that rights are realised not in theory but in the everyday lives of all women and girls across Bangladesh. The op-ed was originally published in The Daily Star. Click here to read.

As Cox’s Bazar was waking up one November morning, an auto-rickshaw sped towards the Cox’s Bazar District Sadar Hospital. Inside, a mother had given birth on the way.Health workers rushed forward, guiding the exhausted mother and her newborn into the facility. One team took the mother to the labour ward. Another team carefully carried the tiny baby to the Special Care Newborn Unit (SCANU).The mother was 37-year-old Misnahar. Her son had been born far too early, weighing just 900 grams and immediately started showing respiratory issues. Inside the SCANU, nurses placed him on oxygen support, monitoring him closely. Tubes and wires surrounded his small body, with machines measuring every breath and heartbeat. For the first 24 hours, Misnahar could not hold her baby. She anxiously watched him through the glass wall surrounding the unit.“I could not stop crying,” says Misnahar. “The first 15 days were some of the most difficult days of my life.”One month laterToday, Misnahar’s baby weighs 1.5 kilograms. Still tiny but steadily growing stronger. She has named him Mir Mohammed Sarid.Each day, she has been learning how to care for him. Keeping him warm with kangaroo mother care, feeding him only breastmilk, burping him gently after every feed, washing her hands frequently to protect him from infection. Nurses showed her how to read Sarid’s cues. Doctors explained what signs to watch once they returned home. She followed every instruction carefully and that made a big difference. Sarid still needs regular follow-ups. His next screening will check for retinopathy – an eye condition that can affect premature babies, especially those on oxygen therapy. Misnahar knows that the road ahead will require patience. But her fear is slowly being overpowered by hope.“When my son grows up, I want him to become a doctor or a nurse,” says Misnahar. “The people here saved my baby’s life. Maybe one day he can save others.”
 Sarid’s survival was possible because Misnahar reached the hospital just in time and specialized newborn care was available when he needed it the most.Bangladesh records 22 neonatal deaths for every 1,000 live births. This accounts for 67% of all under-five deaths, according to the recently released preliminary findings of MICS 2025. Newborn survival is therefore the top child health priority.Across the country, UNICEF and partners have supported the Government to establish Special Care Newborn Units in 62 public hospitals. These units are designed to treat low-birthweight and critically ill newborns like Sarid with life-saving care. The units are equipped with reliable medical oxygen, radiant warmers, phototherapy, resuscitators, and continuous monitoring.In Cox’s Bazar District Sadar hospital, a referral facility serving both host communities and over one million Rohingya refugees, the 65-bed SCANU is a lifeline.“The unit has transformed healthcare for newborns,” says Dr. Imtiaz, one of the medical officers in charge of the ward. “We can monitor babies closely and respond quickly when something changes.”The demand is high. Most days, all the beds are occupied by newborns. Doctors and nurses move steadily from one room to the next, checking vital signs, adjusting oxygen levels, and soothing restless babies.Outside the glass walls, parents wait, some praying silently, some pressing their hands against the window, searching for a glimpse of their child. Inside, the sound of beeping monitors, soft cries, and calm footsteps of health workers fills the room. Strengthening the systemThanks to the support from the World Bank, UNICEF has been able to train health workers, provide their salaries, upgrade services and renovate infrastructure, improve data systems and essential supplies – from diagnostic machines to clean drinking water system that ensure good health and safety in Cox’s Bazar District Sadar Hospital.These investments help hospitals remain ready around the clock to deliver maternal and newborn care, immunization, nutrition counseling, and emergency services for both host communities and refugee populations.For families like Misnahar’s, these systems come together at the most critical moment – when a newborn needs immediate care for survival. For the doctors and nurses, each baby who leaves the hospital healthier and stronger is a reminder of why they do this work.“When a baby recovers and goes home healthy, we celebrate together,” says Dr. Imtiaz. “Those moments give us strength to keep going.”As for Misnahar, it means something simpler. A chance to watch her son grow and thrive.