Over 10,000 Buddhist monks gathered at a conference in Burma, passing a motion that will restrict marriage between Buddhist women and men of different faiths.

The motion will be submitted to Burma’s parliament in the hope that it will become law, alongside a motion that will restrict the right of Burma’s Rohingya Muslims to vote.

If passed, the law will require a Buddhist woman to obtain permission from her parents and local government officials before marrying a man of any other faith. The man would also be required to convert to Buddhism. However, details of whether Buddhist men will be restricted from marrying women of other faiths have not been reported.

Leading monk U Yattha stated,

“We are not actually involved in drafting this law, although some people have accused us of getting involved in politics as monks. We are just helping because it is very important for this law to be enacted, as the marriage law of 1954 is not enough to protect women and children from being converted to other religions or nationalities.”

The proposal comes as reports emerge of more than a dozen Muslims being hacked to death by a Buddhist mob in a Burmese village. See more from the Associated Press here.

Also see our earlier posts:

The extremely central BBS (03 January 2014)

'Buddhism & Violence' - academics discuss Sri Lanka and Burma (31 August 2013)

Buddhist monks and violence (02 May 2013)

Asia's angry monk syndrome (16 July 2008)