All children deserve a home

There are many things that make a country developed. One of them is making sure that its laws are up to the ethical standards of the world we live in.

To that end, it is extremely disappointing to see that when it comes to child adoption and foster parenting, we continue to have retrograde laws that have no place in today’s world.

In Bangladesh, Muslims are not able to adopt children, but instead, must be granted guardianship by the Children’s Court. Hindus are allowed to adopt, but only sons.

The process of attaining guardianship is long and full of hassle, and it is disheartening that red tape exists even for the adoption process and giving a child a new home.

Additionally, as per Bangladesh’s current guardianship laws -- which come under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 -- children adopted under this guardianship act do not share the same rights as biological children.

There are other issues with the laws, such as one of the foster parents needing to be Bangladeshi in order to adopt a child and foster children facing trouble inheriting property.

The fact that such unfair and outmoded ideas are dictating family laws should give us pause. No doubt, it is high time that we amend these archaic laws and move on with the times.

Moreover, we as a society must also move on from our backward thinking when it comes to adoption; hostility towards foster parents is unacceptable; they must instead be welcomed for giving a child a home to grow up in.

All children deserve a home and family to grow up in, and we must ensure that our laws allow these children to lead a fulfilling life, and are afforded their full rights as citizens and members of society.