Your
Advocate
Your
advocate M. Moazzam Husain is a lawyer of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
His professional interests include civil law, criminal law and constitutional
law.
Q:
I think u can help me about my problem so I am writing to you. Please
help me. My name is Karim & I am 20 years old. I want to get married
with a Hindu girl she is 18. I browse some site and found that male
can only get married when they are 21. Is there is any way I can marry
her. And what sort of problem I may have to face in future if her father
takes any legal action about me. Please help me. I need your advice
as soon as possible. Please help me.
Karim, from E-mail.
Your
Advocate: You are a Muslim boy of 20. You want to marry a Hindu
girl who is 18. Your concerns are: a) you came to know that a male can
marry only at the age of 21 b) if you marry her and her father goes
into action against you what consequence may ensue and finally c) is
there any way you can marry her.
Very legitimate
concern for a young man. As human I have nothing to say against such
an inherent natural urge. But as a lawyer it is difficult to give you
such an easy go. Because law does not permit you to sail so straight.
As a Muslim you
cannot contract a valid marriage with a Hindu. Nor a Hindu can marry
a Muslim. Though not a complete taboo, there are restrictions in the
personal laws in matters of inter-religious marriage of the kind. Added
to it is the bar imposed by the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929,
which, as you have heard, makes marriage between a male below 21 and
a female below 18 punishable. Even the persons solemnizing and promoting
such marriage are punishable under law. If Court is informed beforehand
about the arrangement, marriage may be stopped by injunction. Therefore,
father of the girl has legal weapons to fight against you should necessity
arise.
In spite of all
these impediments I do not feel like telling you anything that tend
to defeat the emotional development between or desire of a young boy
and a young girl intending to found family. With that end in view let
me see within my knowledge if there is at all any way out for you.
Firstly, you can
wait until you are 21 and meanwhile propose the girl to embrace Islam
and if she is found agreeable, fine, as soon as you attain age let her
be converted into a Muslim and marry each other in accordance with Muslim
sharia. In this case there would be no legal complications but some
social hazards may crop up which you must have courage to confront.
Secondly, taking
the advantage of controversy of Muslim law that a marriage between a
Muslim man and an idolatress i.e., a Hindu or with a fire worshipper
is merely irregular and not void you can have a civil marriage after
you attain marriageable age. Consequence would be your children would
be legitimate but the marriage will not create mutual right of inheritance
between you and your wife. Of course, she will be entitled to dower.
And finally if
you are ready to take venture both of you can renounce your respective
faith and declare that you don't profess any religion and thus having
secularized yourselves sit for marriage in accordance with the provisions
of the Special Marriage Act,1872 that too after attaining age.
Corresponding
with the Law Desk
Please
send your mails, queries, and opinions to: Law Desk, The
Daily Star 19 Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215; telephone 8124944,
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