Bangladesh: Muslim Marriage Registrars: HC rules women can’t have this job

From the Daily Star

In 2012, Ayesha Siddiqua saw a circular for Muslim marriage registrars for Dinajpur’s Phulbari municipality.

She applied, aced her interview with a 5-member panel which sent her name to the Ministry of Law, Siddiqua, now 39, told The Daily Star. But two months later, she was informed that she could not be hired because she is a woman.

Siddiqua refused to accept the decision. In June 2014, she filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the government’s decision to not employ her based on her gender. Almost six years later, on February 26, 2020, Siddiqua was further disappointed when the High Court ruled against her and upheld the decision of the law ministry. Recently, the full text of the verdict was released after the judges signed it, bringing the court’s decision to light.

The High Court bench of Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Kazi Zinat Hoque ruled that women cannot become Nikah (Muslim marriage) registrars due to “certain physical conditions”, religious “disqualifications” and the “social and practical conditions of Bangladesh”.

“It has to be borne in mind that due to certain physical conditions a lady cannot enter the mosque during a certain time of the month. She is even excused from performing the mandatory daily prayers during this particular time. This disqualification does not allow her to conduct the religious task. We are mindful of the fact that Muslim marriage is a religious ceremony and has to be guided by the terms and dictates of Islam,”

According to the full text of the HC verdict, a marriage ceremony is not merely a family or social event, but it is essentially a religious ceremony which entails certain religious functions.

The marriage ceremony is usually conducted either by the Nikah Registrar himself or by the Imam of the mosque of the locality where the marriage ceremony takes place.

“How is religion related to this? A marriage registrar will simply be registering the marriage,” said Siddiqua in her reaction to the verdict yesterday. “If people want a man to conduct the religious ceremony, they can get a separate imam. The registration can then be done separately.”

Siddiqua has filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision.

Rights activists especially in the field of menstrual safety and hygiene are siding with Siddiqua, and decried the verdict as a backwards step. This further entrenches the social stereotype that menstruating women are impure, they said.

Naripokkho (a women’s rights organisation based in Dhaka)circulated a statement saying they are surprised, angry and disappointed.

“The fact that the High Court took menstruation to be an impediment for a woman when becoming a marriage registrar is illogical and ridiculous. This is a violation of a woman’s constitutional right…Instead of using religion and society as an excuse to take such a backward-thinking step, we expect decisions to reflect the government’s commitment towards equality,”

This is an official recognition of the social stigma that already exists, commented Rubina Akter, co-founder of Campaign RED which advocates for breaking taboos about menstrual health in schools and madrasas in Chattogram. “As it is, school and madrasa students are not ready to accept or process that menstruation is not impure. This is confirming their stigma,” she added.