Nikah registrars demand keeping current jurisdictions among five points, announce pen strike on 16 November
At a press conference at the National Press Club, the Bangladesh Muslim Nikah Registrar and Nikah Registrar Welfare Unity Council set out five demands, including keeping the current work jurisdictions unchanged.
The written statement at the press conference was read by Shah Md Nesarul Haq, president of the Bangladesh Muslim Nikah Registrar Association.
The demands concern the draft of the proposed Muslim Marriage and Divorce (Registration) Rules-2026. The written statement said the draft proposes dividing the nikah registrars' work jurisdiction into three parts.
The draft also proposes appointing one nikah registrar for each ward of a municipality. It also proposes allowing people with general education to be appointed to the post.
The organisation said these changes could have a negative effect on the existing administrative structure and on the professional stability of nikah registrars.
The five demands announced at the press conference include keeping the existing work jurisdiction and granting licences to qualified sons of nikah registrars as qualified successors for posts left vacant by death or retirement.
The other demands are to increase the marriage and divorce registration fees, to keep the educational qualification stated in the previous rules, and to include at least two representatives of nikah registrars in drafting the rules.
Speakers said necessary knowledge of Islamic shariat and Muslim family law is essential for registering marriages and divorces. They said religious education and expertise in the relevant subject should therefore be given importance in appointments alongside general education.
To press the demands, the press conference announced a sit-in in front of deputy commissioners' offices in every district of the country and a pen strike on 16 November.
A rally at the National Press Club on 17 November was also announced.
Md Nazrul Islam Talukdar, president of the Bangladesh Muslim Nikah Registrar Welfare Association, and Kazi Selim Reza, general secretary of the Bangladesh Muslim Nikah Registrar Association, were present at the press conference.
