The High Court on Thursday asked the authorities concerned not to force students to disclose their marital status in admission form in educational institutions.
A High Court bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Md Khairul Alam passed the order after the final hearing of a rule in this regard.
Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta, who represented the state, said no student can be forced to disclose their marital status during admission to any institution in the country as per the High Court verdict.
On November 14, 2017, Advocates Fariha Ferdous and Nahid Sultana filed a writ petition attaching a report published in a national daily headlined “What will the girl do now?”
According to the report, on June 6, 2013, a class X girl was raped but the rapists denied the allegation.
When the girl became pregnant, she was admitted to the one stop crisis centre of Rajshahi Medical College and hospital and she lodged a complaint against the rapist, said the report.
Police arrested the rapist and a DNA test proved that the rapist was the father of the child.
Later, a court ordered sending the girl to a residential centre under the Rajshahi division ‘Women Assistance Programme’ of the government.
While living at the centre, the girl appeared in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination and during her exam she gave birth to a baby boy on February 19, 2014.
Meanwhile, she passed the SSC exam with GPA 4.3 and appeared for her Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination from there.
Later, she was sent home and also passed the HSC exam with GPA 3.17.
On May 30, 2017, a court sentenced the rapist to life imprisonment and asked to bear the expenses of the child. The court also fined him Tk 1 lakh.
She was put in the category of married women during the public examinations though she was unmarried.
Moreover, she was denied admission to Rajshahi Government Nursing College as she had not identified herself as “estranged” in the application form as asked by the college authority.
On December 11, 2017, the High Court issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why the option of marital status in the admission process in educational institutions should not be declared unconstitutional.
Additionally, the High Court questioned the legality of educational institutions seeking information on the marital status of admission seekers.
The High Court also issued another rule asking the government to explain as to why directives should not be given to formulate a meaningful policy in this regard. The court also asked to take steps so the girl can get enrolled in a nursing college immediately.
