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Rathana Thera moves bill to repeal MMDA

10 Feb 2021

Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya (Our Power of People Party) National List MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera yesterday (9) moved a private member bill to repeal the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) No. 13 of 1951 as amended. The first reading of the bill, titled the “Muslim Marriage and Divorce (Repeal) Act”, was held yesterday in Parliament. Previously, on 26 August 2020, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Premitha Bandara Tennakoon handed over to the Secretary General of Parliament, three private member bills which had previously been presented to the Eighth Parliament by then Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee on Women and Gender Chairperson, United National Party (UNP) MP Dr. Thusitha Wijemanne. These bills sought to introduce 18 years as the minimum age of marriage for all (Minimum Age of Marriage Bill), and to amend the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) and the Marriages (General) Ordinance No. 19 of 1907/Marriage Registration Ordinance,No. 19 of 1907 (hereinafter known as the Ordinance). The Amendment to the CPC seeks to amend Section 627 by removing the words “between persons professing Islam” and replacing such words with the words “in terms of the MMDA”. The Amendment to the Ordinance seeks to amend the long title of the Ordinance by removing the words “other than the marriages of Muslims and” and by substituting the interpretation of “marriage” under Section 64 of the said Ordinance with the following text so that marriage would mean “any marriage contracted under this Ordinance save and except marriages contracted under the Kandyan Marriage and Divorce Act or the MMDA”. Women’s rights activist Shreen Abdul Saroor, who has been advocating and campaigning for MMDA reforms, speaking to The Morning, noted that Muslim women should be treated equally, and added that therefore, the relevant laws must be aligned with Article 12 of the Constitution which guarantees the right to equality and equal protection of the law and freedom from discrimination. Previously, Ministry of Justice Additional Secretary (Legal) Piyumanthi Peiris, speaking to The Sunday Morning, said that in addition to stipulating the minimum age of marriage, the MMDA is being reformed to include female Quazis, who are judges under the said law, and to seek the consent of the bride-to-be. Based on the existing MMDA law, a female can be married off with only her father’s consent. However, the proposed change seeks to include the bride’s consent. Furthermore, Peiris said that a proposal has been made to stipulate the minimum required educational qualifications and a maximum age limit for Quazis. “Only a lawyer or a degree holder of a recognised university can be a Quazi and he or she should be below 65 years of age,” Peiris further said. On 6 January, Minister of Justice President’s Counsel (PC) M.U.M. Ali Sabry said in Parliament that measures are being taken to prevent underage marriages by reforming the Muslim matrimonial law. “Muslim underage marriages should be stopped by making 18 years the minimum age required for marriage,” he said. Minister Sabry had also told The Sunday Morning that the Ministry will send the amendments to the Legal Draftsman once the Cabinet of Ministers approves them. The need for reforms to the MMDA has been at the forefront of public discourse due to the agitations from women’s rights groups and various efforts being made over the years to amend such.  


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