Abstract

The most celebrated event of human life is marriage. The right to marry is a mark of adulthood, symbol of social participation, associates with citizenship, relates to sense of belonging in family and community. Marriage promotes mutual care, support and commitment in human relationships. It is an important social institution by which the society affirms and celebrates inter personal love and commitment. Marriage for Muslims is both a religious rite and a civil contract. A Muslim marriage can be solemnised verbally without entering into a written contract. In Bangladesh, registration of Muslim marriages have been made compulsory by the Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1974 by completing a prescribed form called nikahnama. Contravention of this law is punishable with simple imprisonment which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred taka or with the both. The law does not declare a marriage invalid for non registration. With this law in application for more than thirty years in Bangladesh, mounting local awareness and media sensitization, most of the people have learnt to register their marriages yet a few fail to follow the law at their own impairment. This article aims to discuss the utility of a compulsory written document for marriage contract, drawbacks of the existing marriage contract, incompliance between the Islamic law and social reality, gender issues involved and finally suggest for amendments in the existing statutes related to Muslim Personal Law including the nikahnama thus strengthening the marriage contract against future unpleasant incidents in post marriage situations.