Addressing concerns regarding the conflict between the Child Bill 2013 and the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014, the government said revising the child act was not necessary and inclusion of a few specifications would remove the conflict.
The statement came amid criticisms and questions regarding the recently approved child marriage bill, which lowers the age limit for marriage to 16 years from 18 years for females and 18 years from 21 years for males.
Concerned activists pointed out that this was in direct conflict with the child act, which states that a Bangladeshi citizen under 18 years of age will be considered a child.
“Revising the child act is not mandatory,” said Meher Afroz Chumki, state minister for women and children affairs. “We will add a few specifications to the child act that will allow parents to marry off their daughters aged 16 years and above.
“We are still discussing to see how we can achieve that without creating any conflicts with the existing laws regarding children,” the state minister said.
The Child Bill 2013 is in accordance with the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which recognises an individual under 18 years of age as a child.
However, following a Unicef report that placed Bangladesh as one of the countries with highest rate of child marriage, the government decided to lower the age limit for marriage in September this year, aiming to reduce the child marriage rate.
The decision drew criticisms and concerns from women and human rights activists across the country, who said it would be a step in the wrong direction.
In a letter to the ministry concerned, Dr Mizanur Rahman, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, said the age limit for marriage should not be reduced as the maternity death rate was high in the country as well.
“Better yet, the minimum age should be 20 years,” he said.
The state minister said the government had taken the decision with good intention.
“Girls in our country are matured by the age of 14. So reducing the age limit to 16 years is hardly a problem,” she said, adding that India had recently taken a similar initiative.
But Salma Ali, executive director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association, refused to accept the state minister’s explanation.
“The decision is suicidal for our country and is in direct conflict with international laws, which we already ratified. If they want to reduce the age limit for marriage, they have to revise the child act, or scrap the clause with the definition of the child. There is no other way,” she said.
