STATUS OF MARRIAGE & DIVORCE REGISTRATION IN SOUTH ASIA REGION ISAAC K. NYAMONGO THE COOPERATIVE UNIVERSITY OF KENYA
Introduction 10 Events for which data is needed ✓ Live Birth ✓ Death ✓ Fetal Death Of the top five, Marriage ✓ Marriages and Divorce records A credible CRVS is ✓ Divorce generally most wanting central to development ✓ Annulment agenda of any country ✓ Separation ✓ Adoption ✓ Legitimation RECORDS ARE OFTEN INCOMPLETE ✓ Recognition
State of Marriage & Divorce in SAR • South Asia Region includes 8 Countries • The countries are at different levels of civil o Afghanistan registration o Bangladesh • Seven of the eight countries have a legal o Bhutan obligation to register a marriage o Maldives • Only India lacks a law that requires spouses o Nepal to register a marriage o India o Pakistan o Sri Lanka
Age at marriage Without parental consent (age yrs) Country Women Men With parental/court consent Afghanistan 16 18 Girls with parental or court consent can marry at 15 years. Bangladesh 18 21 No provisions for minimum age either for girls or boys. Bhutan 16 18 No provisions provided; Guidelines for issuance of marriage certificate between Bhutanese and foreign spoused the legal age of marriage in Bhutan for both men and women is 18 years. India 18 21 - Maldives 18 18 Under the Family Act, children under 18yrs can get married if they attain puberty & received special permission from the court. Nepal 20 20 - Pakistan Punjab 16 18 Sindh 18 18 Hindu 18 18 - Sri Lanka 18 18 No minimum for Muslim marriages. The Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, which Muslim marriages, doesn’t set minimum age of marriage.
Marriage before 15 years/18 years Female Married by 15 Female Married by 18 Male Married by 18 59 Percent 40 35 30 27 26 22 21 10 10 9 8 7 7 7 6 4 4 4 4 1 3 3 1 0 Bhutan Afghanistan Bangladesh India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka South Asia
Scatterplot of mean singulate age at marriage (Men vs. Women) • Girls marry earlier compared to boys • Younger ages in: • Bangladesh • Nepal • India • … compared to: • Sri Lanka • Pakistan • Maldives
Proportion of those married (Men and Women, 15-75+ years) 100 80 60 Percent 40 20 0 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75+ Age (years) Afghanistan Men Afghanistan Women Bangladesh Men Bangladesh Women Bhutan Men Bhutan Women India Men India Women Maldives Men Maldives Women Nepal Men Nepal Women Pakistan Men Pakistan Women Sri Lanka Men Sri Lanka Women
Trendline – Proportion of those married (Men and Women (15-75+ years) 100 80 60 Percent Trend line ( ..... Men; ___ Women) 40 20 0 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75+ Age (yrs)
Scatterplot of proportion of those married (15-75+ yrs) 80 • Generally the proportion of married Nepal, 80.5, 77.5 women is higher than that for married 78 Men (proportion married) men 76 • The highest proportion of men and Afghanistan, 81.1, 70.4 74 women married is found in Nepal 72 Sri Lanka, 73.4, 67.2 Bhutan, 69.5, 67.1 70 • Lowest proportion of married women India, 75.6, 67.1 68 and men is in the Maldives Bangladesh, 81.5, 70.1 66 Maldives, 70.6, 66 Pakistan, 73.1, 65.4 64 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 Women (proportion married)
Divorce in South Asia region 14 12 10 8 Percent 6 4 2 0 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75+ Age (years) Afghanistan Men Afghanistan Women Bangladesh Men Bangladesh Women Bhutan Men Bhutan Women India Men India Women Maldives Men Maldives Women Nepal Men Nepal Women Pakistan Men Pakistan Women Sri Lanka Men Sri Lanka Women
Stability of unions in South Asia region • Most unstable unions are in the 12 Maldives Maldives, 5.8, 9.7 10 Men (proportion divorced) Bangladesh, 0.14, 0.89 • Most stable unions are found in 8 India, 0.11, 0.18 India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal Afghanistan, 0.18, 0.33 6 Nepal, 0.16, 0.15 Bhutan, 1.3, 2.8 4 • Bhutan and Pakistan lie in the middle Pakistan, 0.72, 0.72 2 Sri Lanka, 0.22, 0.34 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Women (proportion divorced)
Marriage/Divorce Legal Frameworks - i Afghanistan • • Civil Code of 1977 Bhutan Marriage Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan • Islamic law 2017 • Regional customary law • India The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 • Traditional ethnic rules • Hindu Succession Act, 1956 • The Mohammedan Law • Muslim Women’s Protection of Rights on Divorce Act, 1986 • Bangladesh Muslim Marriage and Divorces Act, 1974 • Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 • Child Marriage Prevention Act, 2014 • Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 • Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 • The Special Marriage Act, 1954 • Hindu Marriage Act, 1946 • The Indian Christian Marriage Act, • Divorce Act, 1869 1872 • Christian Marriage Act, 1872 • Sharia and Mohammedan Law • Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 Maldives • • Maldives Family Law Act, 2001 Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 • • The Mohammedan Law Special Marriage Act
Marriage/Divorce Legal Frameworks - ii • • Nepal Marriage Registration Act, 2018 Pakistan The Christian Marriage Act, 1872 (Christian) • • The Social Practices Reform Act, 1976 The Christian Divorce Act, 1869 (Christian) • • General Code (Muluki Ain) The Hindu Marriage Act 2017 • • Sri Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act The Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 • • Lanka Marriage Registration Ordinance, 1908 Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 (Parsi) • (General Law) Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939 • Kandyan Marriage and Divorce Act (Muslim) • • Thesawalamai Law (Tamil inhabitants in Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 (Muslim) • Jaffna) Family Courts Act, 1964 (Muslim) • Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Act 1976 (All citizens of Pakistan) • Guardians and Wards Act (applicable to all citizens Pakistan but communities may follow their own personal law instead)
Obligation to register marriages - i Country Marriage and Divorce Legal obligation to Fines for Organizational Records register marriage late Structure digitalized? registration Afghanistan Ministry of Justice — Immediately (30 No Centralized No Afghanistan Central Civil days when marriage Registration Authority abroad) (fees (ACCRA) apply) Bangladesh Ministry of Law, Justice and 30 days (fees No Decentralized ?? Legislative and apply) Parliamentary Affairs Division. Also Office of the Muslim marriage registrar Bhutan Royal Court of Justice Yes (fees apply) No Centralized ?? India Registrar of Marriage/ No (fees apply) No Decentralized Partial (some Marriage Officer, who is States yet to generally the District digitize; in Magistrate others only in urban areas)
Obligation to register marriages - ii Country Marriage and Divorce Legal obligation to Fines for late Organizational Records register marriage registration Structure digitalized? Maldives Family courts. Also Immediately (2 or 6 No Centralized ?? responsible for adoptions months when marriage abroad) (fees apply) Nepal Ministry of Federal 35 days (free of Yes Decentralized ?.? Affairs and General charge) Administration. Department of Civil Registration Pakistan Union Councils under Yes (free of charge) No Decentralized ?? Provincial Local Government Departments Sri Lanka Ministry of Internal Immediately (fees No Centralized ?? Affairs. Department of apply) Registrar General
Legal status of polygamy Legal status of Countries (source: SIGI 2019) • Legal provisions for other marriages polygamy • Are there any? Legal Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan Legal for Muslims India, Sri Lanka only Illegal and practice Bhutan, Nepal criminalized by law
Barriers to registration of marriage and divorce • Socio-cultural factors • Ignorance • Cost • Accessibility • Distance • Religion • Lack of financial independence • Legal factors • Avoidance labeling • requirements
Concluding remarks CRVS in the context of marriage & Bottlenecks to marriage & divorce divorce registration • National planning • Weakness of data – lacking or incomplete • Protection of individual rights • Systemic factors, e.g. distance • Social protection • Legal factors • Health monitoring • Monitoring other indicators
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