See Bengali Statement Below 

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) expresses grave concern on the recent approval of draft “Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014” by the cabinet.

According to several media reports, the draft ‘Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014’ was approved by cabinet meeting held on last 15 September 2014 and the age of marriage for girls and boys have been reduced from 18 to 16 and from 21 to 18 respectively. Ain o Salish Kendra expresses grave concern on this approval by the cabinet. It must be mentioned here that, the internationally recognized legal age for pre-adulthood is 18 and it has also been ratified as such in the Children Act, passed on 16 June 2013. Furthermore, any boy or girl below the age of 18 is not considered as adult according to the Majority Act 1875.

ASK feels that the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014 is conflicting with various prevailing national and international laws, standards and is also incompatible with the socio-economic context of Bangladesh, as far as conjugal responsibilities are concerned. We also think that reduction of legal age of marriage for girls to 16 years may increase the figures of child marriage along with various health risks for women, lack of access to educational resources and opportunities to be self-sufficient. Under such circumstances, no woman can come out from the male dominated control and take charge of their own lives.

Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) strongly demand the government to take proper and effective measures in prevention of enactment of such incompatible and conflicting laws.