Muslims Cannot Marry if Breastfed by the Same Woman
On the 31st of last month (local time), a Rohingya refugee is holding a 6-month-old baby in a temporary shelter set up at the Bangladesh border. (Photo by AP)
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Bangladeshi government attempted to establish a 'breast milk bank' to save children's lives but ultimately decided to halt the project due to strong opposition from the Islamic community.
According to local media such as the Dhaka Tribune on the 26th, the Institute of Child and Mother Health (ICMH) had been running a pilot 'breast milk bank' since December last year at the special care neonatal unit and neonatal intensive care unit near Dhaka in Matuail, but it will now be discontinued. Bangladesh's state religion is Islam.
A breast milk bank collects surplus breast milk from mothers, sterilizes and stores it, and provides it to other infants in need, such as premature babies, low birth weight infants, and immunodeficient babies.
According to the United Nations, Bangladesh's infant mortality rate last year was 25.7 per 1,000 live births.
Research shows that premature infants admitted to neonatal and intensive care units who consume 'donated breast milk' develop much better and experience fewer complications compared to those fed premature infant formula.
Dr. Mojib Rahman, the project manager of the breast milk bank at the Institute of Child and Mother Health, said, "Seeing the efforts to find breast milk for babies without mothers motivated us to push forward with the project," emphasizing, "We aim to save lives by establishing a breast milk bank."
However, after news of the breast milk bank's establishment spread, Islamic clerics, scholars, and hardliners opposed it, arguing that "children who are breastfed by the same donor establish sibling relationships, which could lead to situations where they might want to marry each other later."
Islamic believers (Muslims) are prohibited from marrying two sisters simultaneously, marrying slaves, or marrying someone who shared the same wet nurse's milk.
In response, the Institute of Child and Mother Health explained that all donated breast milk would have donor information recorded, be stored individually, and donor-user information would be kept on a computer and provided to marriage registration offices.
Nevertheless, as opposition from Islamic clerics intensified, the authorities ultimately decided to suspend the project for the time being.
Mojib Rahman stated, "The breast milk bank we are trying to establish has a different management system compared to those in non-Muslim countries," adding, "We will pause the project for now and try to persuade the opponents. If we can convince them, we will be able to launch the breast milk bank."
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