Dhaka:
The High Court has issued a rule asking why the relevant public representatives (UP chairman and ward members and ward councilors in the case of city corporations and municipalities) should not be removed from office for each child marriage.
The High Court bench of Justice Kazi Reza-ul Haque and Justice Mohammad Ullah issued the rule on Monday (October 30). The rule was issued suo moto after a news report published in a national daily on Saturday (October 28) came to light.
The rule asks the defendants to answer why those public representatives should not be held responsible for every child marriage and why legal action should not be taken against them, including removal from office, for every child marriage in their respective areas as public representatives.
The Public Administration Secretary, Local Government Secretary, Law Secretary, Women and Children Affairs Secretary and Social Welfare Secretary have been made respondents to the rule. The High Court has asked the Public Administration Secretary and Women and Children Affairs Secretary to inform the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) of all districts of this order.
The next hearing on this matter has been scheduled for December 3.
‘The report titled 'Eight child marriages stopped in 24 hours' said, 'From the afternoon of October 26 to the afternoon of October 27, eight teenage girls in Natore, Kushtia, Barisal and Savar in Dhaka were saved from child marriage through the activities of mobile courts run by the local administration.'
‘"The Governance Innovation Unit of the Prime Minister's Office reported that in 2014, there were 13,334 cases of child marriage prevention. The following year, 15,775 child marriages were prevented, but in 2016, that number dropped to 6,389."
‘"According to UNICEF statistics, Bangladesh has the highest rate of child marriage among Asian countries. 66 percent of Bangladeshi girls are married before the age of 18."
English 
বাংলা