Human Rights Watch, an international rights watchdog, has urged the Bangladesh government not to lower the minimum age of marriage for females.
In a press release issued yesterday, it asked the government to comply with the international prohibitions against child marriage and set 18 years as the minimum age for marriage.
The press release came following recent media reports on the draft of Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014, approved by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet last month, which revises the current law to lower the minimum age of marriage to 16 years from 18 years for females, and to 18 years from 21 years for males.
Human Rights Watch said the proposed revisions would reverse the government’s aims to reduce child marriage among girls.
“Setting the age of marriage for girls in Bangladesh at 16 would be a terrible step in the wrong direction,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, women’s rights director at the organisation. “The rate of child marriage in Bangladesh is already off the charts. The new law should set the minimum age of marriage at 18 for both women and men and put the best interests of children at the centre of all of its provisions.”
Bangladesh has the second-highest rate of child marriage in the world, second only to Niger, according to the United Nations children’s agency, Unicef. About 74% of Bangladeshi women currently aged 20 to 49 are married or in a union before age 18, despite the minimum legal marriage age of 18 years for women.
International law prohibiting gender discrimination requires that the minimum age of marriage be the same for both women and men, and the evolving international standards set 18 years as the minimum age.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Bangladesh ratified in 1990, defines a child as anyone under age 18.
“The Bangladeshi government’s promised efforts to end child marriage are encouraging, but these steps need the participation of affected women and activist groups,” Gerntholtz said. “The government should consult closely at every stage with the groups, who have a wealth of knowledge about protecting women and girls, to develop a new law and a national plan of action.
“Bangladesh should take the opportunity to learn from countries around the world that have successfully tackled child marriage,” Gerntholtz said. “The Bangladeshi government should pass a new Child Marriage Restraint Act that empowers girls to delay marriage, resist unwanted marriage, and be recognised in society for their value as individuals, not just as brides.”
Earlier on September 15, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki told reporters at her office that anyone under 18 years would be considered as a child, but a male under 18 years and a female under 16 years will be considered as minor in the final draft of the act.
