Under Muslim law a mother is not her child's legal guardian; the legal guardian is the father. The mother is only the custodian. "The mother is not the guardian; she is not treated as the guardian. The mother is the child's custodian," Dilruba Sharmin wrote.

"In the case of a son, during the seven years he stays with his mother, he can meet his father. In the case of a daughter, she stays in her mother's custody until puberty, and the father can meet her during this time. After that period the father may take the children if he wishes. But if a mother wants to keep custody beyond the set age, she has to apply to the court."

It is often seen that even after a divorce, if there are no major problems or disputes between the parents, the children are placed in joint custody, meaning either the father or the mother can keep them. "In that case they might stay four days with the mother and three with the father, or as suits them."

But if a dispute arises over custody, and the mother wants to keep the children after the set period, that is, seven years for sons and puberty for daughters, she has to apply separately to the court. After such an application, the court decides on whatever is best for the child's welfare.

Courts generally want both parents involved in custody, but it is assumed that children will be best off with their mother. In many cases, however, if the mother is not financially secure or has no income, that weakens her case.

"The court takes many things into account here, such as financial stability, whichever parent the child stays with, and other matters such as drug issues are also considered." If there is a serious allegation against either parent, such as drug addiction or involvement in criminal activity, the court will never want to give that parent custody. "The court allows the child to stay with whoever will best serve the child's welfare."

Whichever parent the child lives with, the court allows the other parent to meet and spend time with the child, although here too it examines whether there are serious allegations against that parent. Without serious allegations, the parent can visit two or three days a week.

If a father or mother has visiting rights but is not allowed to see the child, the parent who is being denied access can go to court again over the matter.

From a Facebook post by Dilruba Sharmin.

Source: Amader Shomoy. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.