WUNRN
Sunday Leader - Sri Lanka
SRI LANKA - NEW ANTI-RAPE LAWS
PROPOSED - DIVISIVE - MARRIAGE SOLUTION VS. PREVENTION & VICTIM PROTECTION
April 22, 2014 - Minister of Child Development and Women’s Affairs Tissa Karalliyadda has proposed new laws to crackdown on the number of rape cases.
As part of the proposal, the Minister has suggested that rapists be bound by law to marry a victim if she gives her consent to court.
Legally, a girl can marry only after passing the age of 18. Under the proposed law, a rapist will be forced to wait until an underage victim reaches the legal age limit to marry and will then need to marry her.
Karalliyadda said that the proposal is to be submitted to the Ministry of Justice to draft the new laws and obtain Cabinet and then Parliament approval.
“The idea is to ensure the victim gets justice. If she feels the rapist must marry her for what he did to her, then she must have that option,” the Minister said.
The Minister said that he will also propose that politicians accused of rape be temporarily stripped of their party membership pending an inquiry.
He noted that some politicians continue in active politics despite being charged for rape. The Minister said that he will discuss the issue with President Mahinda Rajapaksa as well.
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SOUTH ASIA IS HOME TO HIGHEST NUMBER
OF CHILD BRIDES
South
Asian countries have turned their back on United Nations Child-bride
resolution. The proposal calls to end the practice as a part of the post 2015
global development goals.
Authorities continue to turn a blind eye to
early marriages
11/29/2013 - Forced early marriages are
rampant in
The United Nations Human Rights Council
(UNHCR) estimates that over 140 million girls will be married before their 18th
birthday over the next decade and almost 50 percent of these child brides are
in
Child marriage is prohibited by national
and regional laws in South Asian countries such as
"This practice is common across South
Asia, and a girl is considered to be of marriageable age as soon as she attains
puberty," Priya Nanda, director of Reproductive Health and Economic
Development at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), told DW.
Nanda explains that this form of marriage
is linked with the chastity and sexuality of the girl that needs protection as
she represents the family's honor. The fear of sexual assault and premarital
sex drive families to arrange marriages of their children early on.
Child marriage is very common in the
northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan
The UNHCR initiated a proposal calling upon
the world to co-sponsor the resolution to strengthen efforts to prevent and
eliminated child, early and forced marriage. A total of 107 countries including
"Customs take precedence over
laws." Kriti Bharati, an Indian activist, explains that the village elders
in
"Peculiar rituals in Rajasthan persist
and that makes it difficult to change the mindset of the people. The Mausar
ritual is one such tradition of forced marriage. Upon the death of a family
member, a marriage must be solemnized in the family within 13 days in order to
convert the occasion of sorrow into one of joy, even if the family members are
not of marriageable age ," Bharati told DW.
An economic decision
Marriages in
Young brides are often victims of domestic
violence
Studies show that child marriage is
primarily prevalent in rural areas in countries with dowry norms" As the
girl gets older, the price of her dowry goes. So poor families are torn between
paying the cost of delaying the marriage vs. he cost of a higher dowry, "
Nanda told DW.
She adds that the value of the girl is
equated to the labor she can provide. Because most of her productivity and
labor will be provided in the husband's home, families see no point in
investing in a girl who brings them no productive value.
Some of these marriages are simply business
transactions."The poppy brides in
Studies show that the lack of education for
girls traps them not just in a cycle of poverty, making them economically
dependent, but also puts their health at a serious risk. These people are
unaware that girls who get pregnant before their bodies are fully developed are
in a fatal situation. Young brides also risk domestic abuse and marital rape.
The UNFPA report shows that
Challenges ahead
Barr insists that the only way to tackle
the problem is by creating awareness of the laws pertaining to child marriage.
"The governments need to do a lot of work. In
While laws exist in all South Asian
countries, experts agree that the implementation of these laws is not
widespread enough.
"The problem is deep-rooted and starts
with the value of the girl which is very low when compared to boys. It is this
basic mindset that needs to be changed," Nanda told DW.
She believes that on one hand people need
to be convinced to change their mindset, and on the other the Indian government
needs to come up with viable alternatives for girls so they are no longer seen
as a burden.