No age limit for wedlock?

Bangladesh has been widely criticized for taking a “devastating step backwards” in the fight against child marriage by introducing a legal loophole that sets no age limit for wedlock.

The Child Marriage Restraint Bill keeps the legal age of marriage as 18 for women and 21 for men but introduces exceptions in “special cases” or for in the “best interests” of the adolescent.

Campaigners said the changes to the law would effectively mean that Bangladesh has a “zero minimum age of marriage.” Supporters of the law said courts will prevent abuse by assessing applications and also presidential approval will be needed before coming into effect.

There are fears the orders could be used to force victims of sexual abuse or pregnant rape victims to marry their abusers.

The Girls Not Brides group said no examples of “special cases” had been given that would make child marriage acceptable, saying other measures such as protecting education and providing economic opportunities for girls would better serve their futures.

“The need to protect the ‘honour’ of girls who have become pregnant was widely cited by the Bangladesh government as the reason for this provision. However marriage is not the best way to protect adolescent girls and exposes them to greater harm.”

Campaigners called on the government to focus on tackling the root causes of child marriage in Bangladesh, as well as healthcare, sex education, contraception and childcare issues.

The country has the second-highest rate of child marriage in the world, with 52 per cent of Bangladeshis married by the age of 18, and 18 per cent of those by the time they turn 15, according to Unicef.

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