Muslim women celebrate removal of word 'virgin' from marriage certificates

The High Court abolishes the word "kumari" (virgin), which is considered discriminatory for Islamic brides. Both spouses will have to indicate if they are unmarried, widowed or divorced. Some men protest: "Women will have a wild life".

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - She only discovered at her wedding that she had to indicate if she was a virgin: "I didn't know, and it was a shame. Virginity is a physical matter, it has nothing to do with a nuptial document ".

This is the story of Monira Parvin, a 38-year-old Bengali from Razabazar (Dhaka). Speaking to AsiaNews she described the moment of her marriage as humiliating, when she had to write if she was a virgin or not, unlike her husband for whom there was no such obligation.

This is why she is celebrating the decision of the country's highest judicial body to remove the word "virgin" from the wedding certificate. "Thanks to the Court's verdict - she says - now Muslim women have the same rights as men".

With a historic ruling, on August 25th the Bangladesh High Court eliminated the obligation in force only for Muslim women. Previously, they had to write if they were "kumari" (virgins), widows or divorced. Men were not required to indicate marital status at the time of the wedding.

Monira, who married 10 years ago, recalls: "I was really surprised to have to write the word" virgin ", while my husband didn't. I thank those who campaigned for this momentous change ".

The obligation to indicate marital status was foreseen only for women of the Muslim community, not for those of other religious communities (Hindu, Christian and Buddhist). The norm dates back to the period of Pakistani domination, before the independence obtained in 1971. The High Court has established that from now on both spouses will have to fill in the document with the indication "not married", "widow/er" or " divorced ".

The change of law is an initiative of the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Service Trust (Blast), Naripokko and Bangladesh Mahila Parishad associations. Ayshya Akter, Blast's lawyer, says: "We wanted the same rights and we got them. We won. Discrimination was removed from the marriage certificate, considered sacred for married life. At the same time, now the groom will also have to provide his own information on his marital status".

Jhumu Akter, a student at Dhaka University, says: "Even though I'm not married yet, I know that Muslim women were discriminated against. The certificate form was old, so I thank the applicants and the High Court that granted the change ".

On the other hand, not everyone enjoyed the sentence. Some men express dissatisfaction. Among them, the young Palash Islam who says: "Now women will lead a disordered life. For me, the verdict is wrong."