Marriage age limit for girls at 18 years stressed

Rights activists have demanded keeping the minimum marriage age limit for women at 18 years in the proposed Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014.

They made their demands at a seminar at the city's National Press Club on Thursday.   

Members of three forums --- Girls Not Brides, Child Rights Advocacy Coalition in Bangladesh and Bangladesh Girl Power Alliance, which represent 500 local and foreign NGOs and development organisations, were present, among others, at the seminar.

They urged the government to keep the minimum marriage age for girls at 18 as it exists in the current law -- Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929.  

Any condition to bring down the minimum marriage age for girls from 18 to 16 should not be added to the proposed draft of 'Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014', the rights activists said.

The rate of child marriage is 65 per cent in Bangladesh which is the highest in Asia and 4th in the world despite different government initiatives to stop such incidents, speakers at the seminar also said.

Bangladesh Mahila Ainjibi Samity executive director advocate Salma Ali, Aparajeyo-Bangladesh executive director Wahida Banu, Plan International Bangladesh manager-advocacy and communications Shaikh M Jobayed Hossain, among others, were present at the programme.

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