Tue 27 August 2019:
The word “virgin” must be removed from Muslim marriage certificates in Bangladesh, the country’s top court has said, a landmark verdict after campaigners challenged the “humiliating and discriminatory” term.
Under the South Asian country’s Muslim marriage laws, a bride has to select one of three options on the certificate – whether she is a Kumari (virgin), a widow or divorced.
In a brief verdict on Sunday, the nation’s High Court ordered the government to remove the term and replace it with “unmarried”, Deputy Attorney General Amit Talukder told AFP news agency.
The court is expected to publish its full verdict by October, with the changes to the certificate likely to come into effect then.
Rights groups had long criticised the term – used in marriage certificates since they were introduced in 1961 – saying it breaches the privacy of the woman getting married.
Bangladesh is the world’s third-largest Muslim majority nation and nearly 90 percent of its 168 million population are Muslims.
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