Lowering marriage age will be a terrible step, says HRW

Lowering the legal age of marriage for girls to 16 would be a 'terrible step', says the Human Rights Watch (HRW), as it called upon the Bangladesh government to desist from such plans.

According to the US-based rights organisation, the proposed revision will go against Bangladesh's pledge to reduce child marriage among girls.

HRW women’s rights director Liesl Gerntholtz said in a statement:"Setting the age of marriage for girls in Bangladesh at 16 would be a terrible step in the wrong direction."

According to the HRW official, the rate of child marriage in Bangladesh is already very high.

"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,”  the statement quoted Gerntholtz saying.

The existing law in Bangladesh puts the legal age of marriage for girls at 18.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child by the UN, which Bangladesh ratified in 1990, defines a child as anyone under age 18.

During the recent Girl Summit 2014 in London, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina affirmed her position to bring down child marriage.

The proposed revision of legal marriage age would mean Bangladesh was moving away from any international obligations.

Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriages in South Asia, a phenomenon which contributes to high maternal deaths in the country.

The Cabinet has recently okayed a proposal for a new law, which keeps provision of two years imprisonment and Tk 50,000 fine for offenders.

It, however, asked whether the legal age of marriage can be lowered, considering 'social realities'.

The Cabinet asked the law ministry to revise it citing that children in the tropical region attained puberty at an early age.

On Sept 2, state minister for health Zahid Maleque said that girls’ “tendency to elope” at an early age has prompted the government to consider the issue.

Rights activists and development workers, however, were astonished over the minister's statement.

They said it would be an 'utterly wrong' step and would send a wrong message across the international community even if it was considered.

In its statement released on Monday, the HRW suggested some factors for the Bangladesh government to consider before passing the 'Child Marriage Prevention Act 2014'.

It recommends addressing the issues of full consent of both parties in case of marriage, taking marital rapes seriously, providing legal protection to victims and simplifying the process of lodging a complaint in the new law.