Draft of Hindu Marriage Bill to be finalised next month

The commitment was made by Adviser to Prime Minister on Human Rights Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar in a meeting with a delegation of Scheduled Caste Rights Movement Pakistan. The delegation met the adviser to apprise him about their problems they face due to the non-registration of their marriages.

They informed the adviser that they can neither get passport nor the funds from Benazir Income Support Programme due to the lack of certificate of marriage. Moreover, they face difficulties in registering the FIRs in the cases of kidnappings of their girls. They demanded the legislation on the Hindu marriages.

Since past 66 years, the Hindu women are suffering due to the absence of any law for protection of their matrimonial rights. There are no family laws for Hindus. The women cannot claim their right in the inheritance of their husbands as they cannot produce any evidence of their marriage in the court.

It has been a year since the draft of Hindu Marriage Act 2011 was shared by the Federal Ministry with different stakeholders. Due to certain differences among the Hindu Community, the draft was never finalised and the community still awaits the legislation so that their marriages can be recognised and registered.

For the purpose of facilitating the proof of marriages, the Act says that the government may make rules providing that the parties to any such marriage may have the particulars relating to their marriage entered in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed in the Marriage Register. The Marriage Register shall be open for inspection and shall be admissible as evidence of the statement.

Both the parties shall be of eighteen years of age for the purposes of this act and the marriages will be solemnised in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party. The Act deals in detail with the separation, nullity and divorce of Hindu marriages.

Adviser Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said that in the mid of the next month, a conference would be called to settle the differences of the stakeholders of Hindu Marriage Bill and to finalise the draft. He further said that the government is committed to overcome the atrocities of the minorities of Pakistan.

(2012-10-30/thenews)