Azmeri Haque Badhon Actress Azmeri Haque Badhon becomes the first mother to get guardianship of her child in Bangladesh dgtl

Bangladeshi actress Ajmeri Haque Bandhan set an example. As a citizen of Bangladesh, she is the first woman to have full custody of a child. On Monday, the High Court of Bangladesh ordered changes in the country’s guardianship law. In 2018, actress Bandhan, famous for the web series ‘Rabindranath never came to eat here’, approached the court seeking custody of her daughter. The court then ruled in his favor.

Earlier in Bangladesh, if the father of a minor child was alive, the mother was not given guardianship. In that case, the decision in favor of Bandhan is considered ‘exceptional’ by the concerned circles. The High Court of Bangladesh on Monday wanted to know why women should not be entitled to full guardianship after judging several cases recently. As a result, the court ordered amendments to the 1890 Act. The High Court has also ordered the formation of a committee consisting of experts concerned to formulate policies for determining the guardianship of minor children. A dual High Court bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Kazi Zeenat Haque gave this order. The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and the National Human Rights Commission have been directed to submit the policy to the committee by August 4.

Badhan got married to Mashroor Siddiqui in 2010. They got divorced after four years. Their daughter’s name is Michelle Amani Saira. On 30 April 2018, the court granted sole custody of the girl to Bandhan. Bandhan is excited to see that the law of Bangladesh wants to give guardianship to the mother.

When contacted by Anandabazar Online, Bandhan said, “I was very happy then. But at that time I was in a mental and social position, I may not have understood the importance of the matter. I understood that with time. This time the court mentioned my incident as a ‘reference’ during the ruling.

Bandhan said that the court has referred to him as an example on various occasions since he got custody of his daughter. A lot of people also came to know about it with time. Bandhan said, “I am sure the morale of the girls of our country will increase as a result of this verdict.” Many women like my work as well as my lifestyle as a person. At various times, many women have come forward, called and said that I am their inspiration. I am really proud today.”

However, not only parenting, there is a lot more work to be done in terms of equality between men and women in Bangladesh, says Bandhan, the actress of ‘Rehana Mariam Noor’. She said, “Women are still being discriminated against in inheritance laws. The faster the equality of women in inheritance law comes in the coming days, the faster the society will progress.”