Strong birth, death registration law crucial for safeguarding women’s rights: Experts 

A strong birth and death registration law is essential for protecting women's fundamental rights, including access to education, healthcare, social protection and justice, although the government has pledged to achieve universal birth and death registration by 2030, experts said at a webinar.

These concerns were raised today (25 November), during a webinar titled "Stronger Registration Laws to Protect Women's Rights," organised by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. 

Speakers at the webinar emphasised that loopholes in the current legislation pose a significant barrier to progress. 

Photo: Collected

This year's theme is "UNiTE to End Digital Violence against Women and Girls."

Rasheda K Choudhury, executive director of Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) and former adviser to the Caretaker Government, said: "Gender disparities in birth and death registration render women invisible. To ensure every woman's identity and rights, it is crucial to strengthen the Birth and Death Registration Act, 2004 through amendment." 

Samina Luthfa, professor of Sociology at the University of Dhaka, added: "We must ensure birth and death registration for all women to protect their rights and dignity in both personal and state spheres."

Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh country lead of GHAI, emphasised that hospital-based registration would bring every woman under the national system and accelerate progress towards SDG 16.9 on universal legal identity. 

Speakers further highlighted that early marriage exposes adolescent girls to severe maternal health complications and increases the risk of maternal mortality. The lack of official registration, they noted, also facilitates human trafficking and pushes many women into unsafe or exploitative work. 

For meaningful improvement in birth and death registration among women, panellists underscored the need to reform legislation by shifting the responsibility for registration from families to healthcare facilities. 

Currently, only 50% of births and 47% of deaths are registered in Bangladesh—far below regional and global averages.

Automatic registration of all births and deaths occurring in hospitals, they argued, would significantly improve coverage. 

Other speakers included Nadira Kiron, co-convener of the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA), and Rabeya Baby, staff reporter at Ittefaq. The webinar was chaired by ABM Zubair, executive director of PROGGA, and moderated by Coordinator Mashiat Abedin, who also delivered the keynote presentation.