HC rules over Hindu women’s marriage, divorce rights
Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Sunday issued a rule asking the concerned bodies of the government to explain as to why the their inaction and failure to adopt guidelines or policy in order to address the issue of Hindu women’s right to divorce and marriage registration, maintenance, guardianship, adoption and equal inheritance shall not be declared illegal.
It also wanted to know in the rule as to why the respondents should not be directed to take appropriate steps for addressing and resolving the issues and problems relating to Hindu women’s right to divorce and marriage registration, maintenance, guardianship, adoption and equal inheritance, etc. and to repeal of optional provision of Hindu Marriage Registration Act 2012.
Cabinet Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs Secretary of the Law Ministry, Parliament Secretary, Children and Women Affairs Secretary,
Religious Affairs Secretary and Registrar General of the Supreme Court have been asked to comply with the rule within four weeks.
The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by some Hindu individuals and some rights organisations including Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) seeking necessary directives on the issue.
Lawyers ZI Khan Panna, Syeda Nasrin, SM Rezaul Karim and Md Shahinuzzaman appeared for the petitioners during the court hearing.
The petition said, ‘There is no denial that the Hindu women are one of most vulnerable and deprived sections of the country.
Our Constitution guarantees rights for every person irrespective of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, but Hindu women are being deprived of so many rights as to their personal and professional life that they barely can come forward for speaking for themselves and protecting their rights.’
‘It is the constitutional duty of the respondents to protect the vulnerable and ensure necessary legal protections to them. It is their duty to take appropriate steps for addressing and resolving the issues and problems relating to Hindu women’s right to divorce, marriage registration (mandatory), maintenance, adoption and inheritance, and thereby protecting their fundamental rights to life and liberty.
‘It has been a long period of time that the respondents are sleeping over their duties. There have been several protests, movements, demands, proposals and manifesto urging the respondents to adopt guidelines or policy to take appropriate steps in order to address the issue of Hindu women’s right.
However, there has no real action from the part of the respondents to take positive step in this regard, which is absolutely a violation of their duties and obligations towards the citizens as emphasized under the Constitution.’
