Published: 08:08 AM, 05 July 2026
The Erosion of Filial Piety: Why Parent Maintenance Act 2013 Cannot Replace Love
Farhanaz Ferdaushi Ethi
Have we forgotten our responsibilities? Today’s children are tomorrow’s parents. Yet, we blindly forget a fundamental truth: the way we treat our parents today is exactly how our children will treat us tomorrow. Nature never forgets to return what we give. Our parents brought us into this world. They poured every drop of their love into raising us, guiding our first steps, and holding our tiny fingers. The twilight of their lives should be a time of joy, comfort, and peace. How, then, can we treat them as burdens? How can we inflict such injustice upon them? When we were unable to walk, when we could not feed ourselves, our parents sacrificed their own happiness to fulfill our every need with boundless devotion and care. Yet, when they become frail and lose their mobility, why do we transform into insensitive, toxic, and inhumane versions of ourselves? Why must a state enact laws to force us to fulfill our basic responsibilities toward a bond born of love, morality, and duty? Relationships that should be nurtured with affection are now being regulated by legislation. This is a sobering reflection of how deeply our mindset has degenerated—bordering on the criminal. But while laws can govern physical actions, they can never change a human heart. Morally, we are growing poorer by the day. To reverse this spiritual bankruptcy, it is high time we rethink how we propagate family values and moral ethics. Merely educating our children academically is no longer enough. We must instill in them deep-rooted moral and religious values, teaching them the profound spiritual and worldly rewards of walking the path of righteousness.
The Parent's Care Act 2013 was enacted by the Government of Bangladesh to regulate and prevent the neglect of parents by their children. The preamble of this legislation contains two opening lines that profoundly touch the human heart: "An Act enacted to ensure the maintenance of parents by their children." Whereas it is expedient and necessary to provide statutory provisions to ensure the maintenance of parents by their children, it is hereby enacted as follows..."Parents nurture and raise their children with selfless, unconditional love. In return, it should be a natural, instinctive duty for children to care for their parents in their old age. Yet, the law explicitly states that legal provisions have become "expedient and necessary" to guarantee this care. This highlights a poignant reality: we are now forced to legally mandate an act of devotion that should inherently flow from the human heart.
In any governance framework, the necessity to enact or amend a law arises when a new form of misconduct emerges or when an existing offense escalates uncontrollably within society. The enactment of legislation rarely eradicates crime entirely, nor is absolute eradication the realistic objective of jurisprudence. Rather, the true purpose of law is to regulate, restrain, and curb criminal tendencies. Statutes incorporate punitive measures and penalties precisely so that the fear of punishment acts as a deterrent, dissuading potential offenders from committing wrongdoing. Logically, this leads us to an unsettling conclusion: must we now classify the failure to provide for one's parents as a societal crime? Has this particular form of negligence intensified so drastically across the nation that it demanded explicit legislative intervention? Section 3 of the Parents' Care Act 2013 explicitly mandates that every child must ensure the maintenance and livelihood of their parents. Extending this familial responsibility, Section 4 of the same Act stipulates that in the absence of the parents, grandchildren are legally obligated to provide maintenance for their paternal and maternal grandparents. To enforce compliance, Section 5 of the statute prescribes strict punitive measures for non-compliance. Any violation of the provisions laid down in Sections 3 and 4 shall be punishable by a fine of up to BDT 100,000; in default of payment, the offender shall face imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months. Crucially, the same section further dictates that if a child’s spouse, offspring, or any other close relative obstructs or refuses to cooperate in providing such maintenance to the parents or grandparents, they shall be liable to the exact same criminal penalties. Based on the provisions and penal measures of this legislation, it is evident that a child’s failure to maintain their parents constitutes a punishable offense. The alarming escalation of this issue has compelled the state to intervene through legislative measures. However, a fundamental question remains: to what extent can the obligations of morality, affection, and familial bonds be regulated by statutory law? Is it truly possible to guarantee parental maintenance solely through legislation? The reality is that while laws may not completely resolve the issue, they do alleviate the state’s institutional responsibility to some degree. No law can entirely eradicate a crime, and this legislation is no exception. To arrest this profound social and familial moral decay, the prioritization of core family values and moral education is essential when raising children. Both families and educational institutions must actively organize workshops and curricula centered on moral education and human values.
Many countries like Singapore, India and China have enacted a legal framework to execute children’s duty towards their older parents in terms of care and maintenance where the parent’s rights violation rate is much higher compared to other nations. In the law of land, Bangladesh, there were no legal instruments for claiming parent’s maintenance against the children till 2012.
Considering the vulnerability of the parents, the Government of Bangladesh has enacted the Parents Maintenance Act, 2013 for the protection of the rights of the parents. Under this Law, caregiving responsibilities and maintenance of elderly parents has been given upon their adult children. Due to the degradation of morality and ethics in the family structure, the law comes with a liability rather than responsibility. This law ensures the family’s responsibility towards parents' care and necessities. Not only does it ensure the social security of senior citizens, it compels children to take proper care of their parents. It is considered one of the contemporary and progressive laws in the country. Generally, the elderly persons are honored by family, community and even the state. Nevertheless due to numerous socioeconomic factors, traditional values and practices as well as family ties are weakening nowadays. Due to decrease in standards of morality, the younger generation believes the experience and expertise of the elderly to be obsolete. This is the moral responsibility of an adult child to provide proper care and maintenance towards their parents until their last breath.
Farhanaz Ferdaushi Ethi is a
lawyer in Sylhet District and
Sessions Judge’s Court.
