Make registration must: Mahila Parishad

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP) yesterday urged the government to make marriage registration mandatory for the Hindu community.
“The Hindu Marriage Registration Act-2012 gives men a bargaining status as marriage registration was kept optional in it,” said BMP President Ayesha Khanam at a media conference in the capital's Jatiya Press Club.
An individual may practice their religious belief-based rituals during marriage but the state must make the marriage registration mandatory, she said.
“A woman, under a Muslim personal law, requires her husband's permission to divorce him and divorce, under a Hindu personal law, is not recognised.
“Even these days, Hindu women fall prey to various discriminatory practices, including at times while seeking jobs abroad,” she said, adding that the state must enact complete, not partial, family laws to protect its citizens' rights.
BMP also came up with an eight-point recommendation on family law reforms, which includes establishing a central marriage registration database, ensuring equal rights in parenthood, property and inheritance and providing legal support for adoption.
In July 3 a bill, providing Hindus the option to register marriages, placed in parliament fell short of a prohibition on polygamy and allowing divorce, says a BMP handout.