Amendments to Christian personal laws, framing of Hindu marriage act’s rules sought

In their efforts to amend the two Christian personal laws and the framing and expediting of the Sindh Hindu Marriage Act’s rules of business, members of the National Lobbying Delegation for Minority Rights (NLD), have been holding meetings with government and opposition parliamentarians, human rights bodies, civil society activists and media persons.

The NLD — a 24-member group comprising minority activists, lawyers and civil society members from around the country — was formed in 2012 mainly to raise concerns of the religious minorities.

The group in the recent past worked on the passage of the Hindu marriage act and the implementation of the five per cent job quota for religious minorities and in educational institutions.

Now the group members from Sindh — MPA Anthony Naveed, Pushpa Kumari, Dr Sabir Michael, M Prakash Advocate, Jai Prakash Moorani and Krishan Sharma — and Sheezan William from Quetta have been working on amendments in the Christian personal laws —the Christian Marriage Act 1872 and the Christian Divorce Act 1869 — and the framing of the rules of business of the Sindh Hindu Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2018.

On Tuesday the NLD’s members met Justice (retd) Majida Razvi, chairperson of the Sindh Human Rights Commission, at her office to discuss issues related to family laws and job quotas for minorities.

They told her that there is a need for amendments in the Christian personal laws that had never been amended since their enactment during British rule.

They also said the Sindh Assembly had passed historic amendments to the Hindu marriage act in May 2018, making it a comprehensive act. But unfortunately, its rules of business are yet to be framed and they need to be expedited.

Justice Majida assured the NLD delegation of her support. She also assured them of taking up the issue with the relevant departments of the provincial government.

The NLD’s Michael told The News that the absence of marriage law for the Christian community means that there is also no law available on divorce, which is affecting many women. “It is imperative for the state to act now and make laws that can work towards protecting the pivotal rights of women.”

Sharma stressed the need to finalise the rules of business regarding the Hindu marriage act so it could effectively be enforced. “Through its proper implementation, forced conversions and early marriages can be stopped.”

The NLD in the recent past also met Sindh chief minister’s adviser Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Women Development Minister Syeda Shehla Raza, MPA Nand Kumar Goklani and Sindh Commission on the Status of Women Chairperson Nuzhat Shirin to discuss similar issues.