Special Provision in anti-child marriage law disastrous
It is without a doubt that the recently Cabinet-approved provision in the proposed Child Marraiage Restraint Act, that allows marriages of girls under 18 'under special circumstances', will have grave consequences on the fate of many girls and development in general. Speakers at a roundtable yesterday urged the government to repeal the provision which human rights activists and many members of the civil society have repeatedly protested against.
Although government representatives at the discussion have assured that the provision would only be applied under strict scrutiny, we are not convinced. The provisions will in effect justify marriages of girls not only under 18 or 16 but even younger – as long as the parents or the court consents to it. But parental pressure is part of the problem and it is up to the government to make sincere efforts to change their thinking and make it legally impossible for them to force their daughters to marry.
The suggestion by some speakers that this provision is already in the Marriage Registration Act and hence not necessary to be incorporated in the Child Marriage Restraint Act, validates further that the provision should be removed.
It is disheartening that despite many discussions with rights groups and other stakeholders from civil society, the government has decided to disregard all their misgivings regarding the provision and gone ahead in approving it.
There is no ambiguity in the fact that child marriage under any circumstances, is morally wrong, has devastating consequences on young girls in terms of mental and physical health, results in early, risky pregnancies, underweight babies and ultimately has adverse effects on development. Are these not enough reasons to scrap such a controversial special provision?
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