Dhaka bans registration of marriages with Rohingya

Bangladesh yesterday barred marriage registrars from registering marriages in Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, Rangamati and Chittagong districts till they are confirmed about the Bangladeshi nationality of the concerned men and women.Terming the areas as special ones, a notification of the law and justice ministry said the tendency of Bangladeshi men towards marrying Rohingya women from Myanmar has increased noticeably and some marriage registrars are involved in such ‘activities.’Signed by senior assistant secretary G M Najmus Shahadat, the notification asked the registrars to check national identity cards to confirm about the nationality of the men and women planning to get married.“Strong actions would be taken against guilty marriage registrars for any kind of negligence in this regard,” the notification said. The ministry also directed respective district registrar to monitor the matter. Since the first major Rohingya influx in 1978, thousands of refugees married Bangladeshi nationals and settled in Bangladesh. However, in 2014, ministry of law and justice issued a ban on marriage between nationals and Rohingya refugees, stating that “strict punitive actions shall be taken against the marriage registrars who will register the marriage of any Rohingya in Bangladesh.” During the recent and renewed influx of Rohingya refugees, the ministry once more reiterated the ban and warned all marriage registrars across the country. This ban was first proposed by Cox’s Bazar district administration in 2013. Ali Hossain, district commissioner of Cox’s Bazar district, said, “Rohingya refugees come to Bangladesh without any passport or identity cards. So when they marry a Bangladeshi, they get Bangladeshi voter identity cards and become permanent citizens of the country. The ban has been issued to stop this practice.” He also admitted that it is very difficult to stop these weddings as most of them are done in secret through mutual understanding of the couple. “To prevent such weddings, we have informed local leaders of the ban. They have been asked to inform the local police station if they get any information about such marriages.”