Burma: Scrap Proposed Discriminatory Marriage Law

(Bangkok, March 25, 2014) – Burmese President U Thein Sein and National Assembly Speaker U Thura Shwe Mann should reject proposals for discriminatory marriage legislation that would strip Buddhist women of the right to freely choose whom they marry, Human Rights Watch said today. Burma’s donors should make it clear that passage of such a discriminatory law will put at risk continued increases in levels of aid and investment.

“National Race Protection Law” Protects No One

At a convention of over 1,500 monks from around the country in Rangoon on 27 June, senior Buddhist monks said that they endorse a draft law that would place restrictions on marriages between Buddhist women and non-Buddhist men, ostensibly “to protect our race and religion.”

The proposed “national race protection law” states that non-Buddhist men wishing to marry a Buddhist woman would have to convert to her religion. They must also obtain permission from the woman’s parents and local authorities before marrying or risk 10 years in jail.

The proposed bill is in clear violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which states in Article 16(1) that, “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family.”

The bill also violates the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) […]