Bangladesh: Ayesha Siddiqua Denied License For Marriage Registrar For Being A Woman
New Age Islam Special
Correspondent
18 January
2021
Photo: Ayesha Siddiqua
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In
Bangladesh a Muslim woman, Ayesha Siddiqua has been fighting a legal battle for
being a Marriage Registrar since 2014. The Law Ministry rejected her
application on the ground that she was a woman and the High Court upheld the
decision of the Law Ministry on the same ground. This has sparked a debate on the
issue in the country.
Ayesha
studied in Phulbari Darul Sunnah Senior Siddiqia Madrasa and got a Fazil
degree. In 2014, she applied for the license for Marriage Registrar for Ward
No. 7,8 and 9 of Phulbari.
The local
advisory committee sent the applications of three aspirants including Ayesha's
to the Law Ministry. The Ministry rejected her application on the basis of her
gender. She challenged the decision of the Law Ministry in the High Court. Her
argument was that she fulfilled all the qualifications mentioned by the Law
Ministry. The rules don't specifically say that a woman can not be a Marriage
Registrar. Moreover, the Constitution guarantees equal rights to women.
However the
High Court bench comprising Justice Zubair Rahman Choudhury and Qazi Zeenat
Haque also pronounced its judgment against Ayesha in February 2020.
The judges
in their judgment said that in the current scenario of Bangladesh, a woman
could not be a Marriage Registrar. The reason was that in urban areas, due to
lack of space, marriages are solemnised and registered in mosques. Since women
can not enter a mosque due to some physical constraints on certain days, she
wont be able to register the marriages on those days. That's why a woman cannot
be a Marriage Registrar.
This
judgment has again sparked protests and criticism against the court and the Law
Ministry. Feminist organisations have termed the judgment as biased against
women and a violation of women's rights.
Ayesha has
not accepted defeat. She has decided to take her battle to the Supreme Court.
The High
Court judges have not presented any arguments from the Quran and Hadith in
favour of their opinion. They have formed their opinion only on the basis of
"current scenario" of Bangladesh. They could have derived their
conclusion from the verse of the Quran which prescribes two women witnesses in
place of one male witness (2:282).
Since a
Marriage Registrar is practically a witness to a Nikah, in case of issuing a
license for Marriage Registrar to a woman, she may be asked to appoint a male
or female assistant so that when she is not able to register a Nikah due to
some physical or personal constraints, her assistant can do the job.
When the
Constitution and the rules of the Law Ministry do not specifically bar a woman
for being a Marriage Registrar, she can not be denied license for Marriage
Registrar only on the ground of menstrual period when the ministry and the
court have an option suggested by the Quran.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-society/bangladesh-ayesha-siddiqua-denied-license/d/124093
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