Bangla child marriage law faces ire of rights groups

Dhaka, Feb. 28: Rights groups on Tuesday criticised a controversial new child marriage law in Bangladesh which allows children as young as 14 to be married off by their parents.

Parliament passed the Child Marriage Restraint Act on Monday night, replacing a law dating back to the British colonial period.

The new law keeps the minimum marriageable age for males at 21 and for females at 18 but relaxes the age bar for “special circumstances”, including for girls who elope, are raped or bear children out of wedlock.

Rights groups have criticised the law, saying it would jeopardise the gains Bangladesh has made in cutting the levels of child marriage and improving the health of women and children.

“The biggest concern is the law has not set any minimum marriage age for special circumstances, meaning children can be married off at the age of 14-15,” said Nur Khan Liton who represents the Child Rights Advocacy Coalition in Bangladesh.

The coalition, which includes international charities such as Save the Children, Action Aid, national charities and rights groups, said the law could be abused and poses a “risk” to children.

But a ruling party lawmaker who heads Parliament’s committee on women’s and child affairs said it reflected the reality in villages.

“We have taken into account the opinion of the UNICEF and other experts,” said Rebeca Momin, adding the law also toughened penalties for people violating the minimum marriage age.