WorldRights groups on Tuesday criticised a controversial new child marriage law in Bangladesh which allows children as young as 14 to be married off by their parents. Parliament passed the Child Marriage Restraint Act on Monday night, replacing a law dating back to the British colonial period. Rights groups have criticised the law, saying it would jeopardise the gains Bangladesh has made in cutting the levels of child marriage and improving the health of women and children. Despite making impressive gains in many social indicators in recent decades, child marriage remains rampant in the conservative Muslim-majority country. “Weakening the law is a setback for the fight against child marriage, and sends a message to parents ... that the government thinks child marriage is acceptable in at least some situations,” Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch wrote after the cabinetapproved the law last December.

Source: Sunday Times February 28, 2017 13:20 UTC