The minimum age of marriage for girls would remain 18 in the upcoming Child Marriage Restraint Act, said State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki.
Replying to a query of journalists, she said: “How could you believe that the age limit for girls' marriage will be lowered to 16? It will definitely remain 18."
Read more: Govt urged not to lower marriage age to 16
The junior minister made the statement in a programme at CIRDAP Auditorium in the capital on Monday afternoon.
The draft of the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014 proposed that parents could marry off their daughters at the age of 16 for any logical reason or by the approval of court.
Though the previous draft of the act kept the minimum age of marriage for girls at 18, the revised draft added that any girl marrying at 16 with parental permission or with the court’s approval would not be considered a minor.
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Media reports indicated that the government has been considering a revision to the law to make 16 the minimum age of marriage for girls while the minimum age for men would be 18, drew huge criticism in the country since last year.
Child marriage has been illegal in Bangladesh since 1929, and the minimum age of marriage has been set at 18 for women and 21 for men since the 1980s.