Just over two weeks after announcing his constituency child marriage free, Salahuddin Ahmed Mukti, lawmaker from Mymensingh 5 parliamentary seat, appears to have breached law by marrying off his underage younger daughter and that too in a lavish manner.
Interestingly, Raushon Ershad, the opposition leader of the House, local Upazila Nirbahi Officer Julkar Nayon, Officer-in-Charge of Ghatail police station Kamal Hossain and Mymensingh District Council Chairman Yousuf Khan Pathan, among others, attended the wedding ceremony on Friday when Mukti’s elder daughter was married off too.
According to sources, the eldest of the two is Maksura Mim Payel, who is currently aged around eighteen and a half years, while the other is Afsana Mim Priyonti, who just completed her seventh grade in a local madrasa last year.
Priyonti’s bridegroom is a sub-inspector of the police station in Tangail while her newlywed brother-in-law is an official of the Anti-Corruption Commission in Dhaka.
When contacted, MP Mukti said he did not have a birth certificate issued for Priyonti from Muktagachha municipality, claiming that she was eighteen, and two years junior to Payel.
The marriage registrar, Kazi Nurul Amin, said they did not receive Priyonti’s birth certificate during her wedding function.
Asked about the incident, District Women’s Affairs Officer Masirunnesa said she was not aware of the matter.
On January 31 last year, the member of parliament at a programme in the area declared Muktagachha Upazila early marriage free.
Mukti’s wife Josneara, also nicknamed Mukti, is a women member from reserve seat at the district council.Lavish marriage functionThe marriage ceremony that reportedly cost Tk4 crore saw a mammoth turnout of 15,000 guests. As many as 500 goats were slaughtered to host a rich banquet for the invitees, according to sources.
The district customs office said Mukti did not deposit VAT against the total expenditure of the wedding ceremony, despite the extravagant arrangement.
The function was held on the upazila parishad premises, which also covered a portion of a local primary school where rover scouts of a high school were deployed to help maintain discipline during the event.Criticisms over the incidentThe incident garnered much criticisms in the area with many expressing their resentment.
One Manir Mia of the municipality said the MP married off his daughter despite declaring the upazila child marriage free.
Bangaldesher Samajtantrik Dal’s Mymensingh district unit President Emdadul Haq Millat termed the incident shameful.
“It is very unfortunate that Mukti, being an MP, breached the law. If a public representative does such thing, what do the masses do then?”Special provision in relevant lawAccording to the draft Child Marriage Restraint Act 2016 approved on November 24 last year, anyone below 18 will be considered a child. But, in cases of marriage, any male and female under the age of 21 and 18 respectively will be considered minors.
The cabinet secretary then said a minor will be allowed to marry in special cases for the sake of honour, such as in a situation of a girl getting accidentally or illegally pregnant, with approval from a court and agreement between the parents.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
