New Bill triggers rush for nikaah in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Fear of Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which seeks to raise the legal age of marriage from 18 years to 21 years, becoming a law is driving many families in Hyderabad to advance marriage dates, a few even by a year, so that the ‘nikaah’ can be solemnised. Many Muslim families in […]

Hyderabad: Fear of Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which seeks to raise the legal age of marriage from 18 years to 21 years, becoming a law is driving many families in Hyderabad to advance marriage dates, a few even by a year, so that the ‘nikaah’ can be solemnised.

Many Muslim families in Hyderabad are now literally rushing with the ‘nikaah’ ceremony of their daughters. “Several families planned to marry off their daughters aged between 18 and 20 years in 2022 or 2023. With the new Bill proposing to increase the age to 21 years, many are now in confusion and are solemnising the nikaah urgently. In last one week, we performed six marriages at our office itself,” says Habeeb Ahmed Bin Salam Al Attas, a Qazi from Barkas.

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Mohd Fazal, a tailor from Falaknuma, planned the marriage of his 19-year-old daughter in mid-February of this year. “After a lot of efforts we had fixed the marriage and made all arrangements. Our efforts will go futile if the law is passed overnight. There is also a risk of the marriage of our daughter being cancelled. So we opted for ‘telephone nikaah’,” he said.

Several families are also in a state of confusion over the Bill and hurrying with the marriages. Qazi Habeeb Ahmed points out instances where the groom is residing abroad and families are prefering to solemnize the marriage over telephone, mostly through Skype video calls.

“To legalise the marriage, the groom has to send a General Power of Attorney (GPA) letter obtained from the Indian consulate or the embassy or some competent authority from the country where he is residing. A local person staying here should be authorized to the sign the documents,” he said.

Last week, several marriages were solemnized at local mosques or homes with only a handful of guests. At a later date, the families organize reception and hold the ‘bidaai’ ceremony. “In certain cases, the receptions are likely to be held in 2023 beginning,” said another Qazi from the city.

Head Qazi, Shariyath Panah Balda Hyderabad (old city) Khazi Mir Md Khader Ali, said it was wrong on part of the Centre to increase marriage age of the girls. “We were adhering to the 18 year age for marriage law. Government’s plan to increase the age will only lead to more problems,” he said.

Meanwhile the Telangana State Wakf Board (TSWB) will be holding a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the bill and explain the members of the status of the bill to avoid panic.

A city based organization Team NGO’s on its part started efforts to bring awareness among the community about the status of the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021. “Community should not panic and rush with the marriages. The Bill must be withdrawn as it goes against the Constitution,” said Team NGO’s convener, Illyas Shamshi.

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