Maungdaw, Arakan State: Many Rohingya women are unable to marry due to poverty and not getting permission from the concerned authorities because they are unable to bribe officials, said a girl from Maungdaw town on condition of anonymity.

A Rohingya couple of Maungdaw Township got married after getting permission from Burma’s border security force (Nasaka) two months ago, after they bribed Kyat 150,000 to the Nasaka authorities.

The couple is Maulana Salim (24), son of Maulana Abu Baker Sidique and the bride Pormin (20), daughter of Dinn Mohamed. Both of them hail from Padin Kiyandaung village of Nasaka area no 7 of Maungdaw Township.

They got permission from the Nasaka camp no 15, of Maungdaw Township after an application was submitted by the parents of both the bridegroom and the bride. But, they got permission after one year and tied the knot peacefully because of the money they paid, said a close relative of Maulana Salim.   

But many Rohingya girls are unable to marry as they cannot pay money for marriage permission and dowry money to the bridegroom due to poverty. They are 30 to 35 years old, said a local elder.

Like Pormin, other girls from northern Arakan want to marry within the marriageable age. A woman Fatema Khatun (35) (not her real name) of Maungdaw Township spoke about her bad luck as her parents do not have enough money to pay Nasaka.

There is also a scarcity of bridegrooms in northern Arakan because most of the youths have gone abroad for a better livelihood, especially because of persecution by the ruling military junta, said a local school teacher requesting not to be named.

The brides and bridegrooms have to pay money to the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) Chairman, local Nasaka camp, Sarapa (Military Intelligence), Immigration and Nasaka headquarters to get permission.

The bridegroom and bride accompanied by their parents have to appear at the local Nasaka camp to get the permission. There, the concerned authorities ask many humiliating questions to the couple in front of their parents, according to one of the parents.

The Burma’s SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) has not withdrawn marriage restrictions against the Rohingya community though the international community has been pressurizing the Burmese junta. It is unnatural and does not exist in any country in the world, said a businessman from Maungdaw town.

But, SPDC authority propagates that the growth rate of the Rohingya people is very high, so it is needed to stop, said an aide of Nasaka.