Marriage, divorce registration to go digital: Law Minister

Bangladesh is moving to bring marriage and divorce registration under a digital system, allowing authorities to verify marital records through a centralised database and help curb child marriage and secret multiple marriages, Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman said on Saturday (October 3).

He said marriage-registration data would gradually be linked with the central databases of national identity cards, birth registration and passports, making it easier to verify a person’s marital status and identity.

The minister was speaking at the opening of a 10-day residential training programme on online marriage and divorce registration software for Nikah registrars at the BRAC Learning Centre in Dhaka’s Niketon.

Asaduzzaman said all Nikah registrars, commonly known as Kazis, would gradually receive training under the digital registration system. The government has already begun a pilot programme covering 102 unions in 10 upazilas, with the aim of moving the traditionally manual system to an interconnected digital platform.

He said online records would make it possible to check whether someone had previously married and, where applicable, verify whether the required permission had been obtained for another marriage. The system would also allow age and identity verification to help prevent child marriage.

The minister said digital marriage records could also help settle competing claims by spouses or children after a person’s death and make it easier for foreign authorities to verify marital relationships when necessary.

He also announced plans to introduce a lottery-based posting system for Dhaka’s sub-registrars to address concerns over officials remaining at the same workplaces for extended periods.