Suu Kyi slams proposed inter-faith marriage law

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has criticised a proposal by nationalist monks to restrict marriages between Buddhist women and men of other faiths, describing it as a violation of human rights, a report said yesterday.
"This is one-sided. Why only women? You cannot treat the women unfairly," Radio Free Asia quoted the Nobel Peace Laureate as saying in an interview.
"I also understand that this is not in accordance with the laws of the country and especially that it is not part of Buddhism," the veteran activist said.
"It is a violation of women's rights and human rights."
Under the proposal -- spearheaded by the controversial Mandalay cleric Wirathu -- non-Buddhist men wishing to marry a Buddhist woman would have to convert and gain permission from her parents to wed or risk 10 years in jail.
The idea was raised at a recent meeting of more than 200 monks called to discuss a surge in Buddhist-Muslim violence in the former junta-ruled country.
Wirathu said the law was needed "because Buddhist girls have lost freedom of religion when they married Muslim men".