Bangladesh Parliament declined an unusual proposal, on Saturday, that calls for banning marriages among employed citizens, aiming to address the unemployment issue in the country.

Lawmaker Rezaul Karim defended his proposal by arguing that the children of working couples were often exposed to abuse by housemaids.

"Men holding jobs want to marry working women, likewise, women in service want to marry service holders... if the trend continues, you can't resolve the unemployment problem in the country," Karim said.

Despite being against it, Law Minister Anisul Huq called the proposal a manifestation of "freedom of speech".

"I cannot move two steps off the House if I accept the proposal... this is unconstitutional," the Minister said.

Huq said, being a public representative himself, he could not endanger his career by accepting such a "weird" proposal.