Experts for amending laws to prevent child marriage

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Experts at a roundtable Thursday demanded of the government to amend the existing marriage laws identifying the loopholes to prevent child marriages, which have assumed an alarming proportion in the country.

ActionAid Bangladesh in collaboration with Saptahik 2000 organised the roundtable on 'Early Marriage and the Steps to Prevent It' at the BIAM Foundation's Mahbub Kabir Memorial Hall in the city Thursday, reports UNB.

Mahila Parishad president Aeysha Khanam expressed her deep concern saying that child violation rate is still very high in the country though it is one of the signatories to most of the international human rights conventions, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

She demanded of the government to make the marriage laws more stringent to prevent marriage of girls below 18 years and also take stern punitive measures against the violators of the marriage age.

BNP joint secretary general Selima Rahman recommended extending the marriage age of girls, from the existing 18 years, to protect them from the curse of early marriage.

Country Director of ActionAid Bangladesh Farah Kabir urged the government to make it mandatory to verify birth registration while registering a marriage.

Assistant Prof of Chittagong University SM Humayan Kabir presented a study report, titled 'Marriage in Bangladesh: When it is too early'.

The report showed that Bangladesh was placed third, while Nepal 7th and India 11th in the list of the top 20 countries, considered hotspots for early marriage.

The percentage of below 18-year marriages in the country is 68.7, while it is 56.1 per cent in Nepal and 50 per cent in India.