The government has decided to provide laptops, other digital devices and necessary training to nikah registrars, commonly known as Kazis, in 102 unions across 10 upazilas under a pilot project aimed at facilitating the digital registration of marriages and divorces.

“If successful, the project will be expanded across the country based on the experience gained from its implementation,” said Dr Md Rezaul Karim, spokesperson for the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

The 10 selected upazilas are Kaliganj in Gazipur, Tungipara in Gopalganj, Jhenaigati in Sherpur, Kurigram Sadar, Sundarganj in Gaibandha, Narail Sadar, Kasba in Brahmanbaria, Sylhet Sadar, Chakaria in Cox’s Bazar and Kishoreganj Sadar.

The law ministry official said that, as the project is linked to the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system, various government agencies and institutions will also be involved in its implementation.

These include the Cabinet Division, Election Commission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Local Government Division, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Welfare, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and the Law and Justice Division.

The main aim of the project, titled “Civil Registration and Vital Statistics: Development of ICT Infrastructure for Marriage and Divorce Registration”, is to transform the marriage and divorce registration system from a manual process into a digital, online and interconnected system.

“The main objectives of the project are to provide people with quick and immediate marriage and divorce registration services, increase transparency in the registration system and, in particular, prevent child marriages.”

“Initially, web-based software has been developed for the online registration of Muslim marriages and divorces, which will be implemented on a pilot basis,” Dr Karim said.

One of the project’s key features is to link the marriage registration system with National Identity Card, birth and death registration, and other CRVS data. This will make it possible to automatically verify the ages of the bride and groom and other relevant information.

According to the project plan, registration will not be completed if the woman is under 18 or the man is under 21.

The project includes provisions for a real-time central database, data centre and backup system, online registration software, training for nikah registrars and the supply of necessary IT equipment. The main server and backup system are planned to be housed at the National Data Centre of the Bangladesh Computer Council.

Besides, arrangements will be made to archive information on marriages and divorces registered by registrars in the areas covered by the project.

“As the system will be directly interconnected with the National Identity Card and birth registration databases, all information about an individual can be verified with just one click. As a result, child marriages using fake documents or forged birth certificates, as well as secret polygamous marriages without the first wife’s knowledge, can be prevented,” Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman said.

The Law and Justice Division has already signed an MoU with BRAC to implement the project.

Once implemented, the project will help prevent child marriages, protect women’s rights, reduce risky adolescent motherhood and maternal mortality, ensure accurate statistics on marriages and divorces, enable government fees to be deposited directly into the treasury, ensure faster issuance of certificates, and prevent fraud and forgery related to marriages.

In particular, the digital system could play an effective role in curbing irregularities such as second marriages, fraud involving dower and marriage certificates, and marriages contracted using false information.