柬埔寨政府近日宣布，禁止50岁以上的外籍男子与本国女子结婚，以防止假结婚和贩卖人口等问题。另外，50岁以下的外籍男子若想迎娶柬埔寨女子，还需提供收入证明，月收入不得低于1539英镑。之前曾有不少韩国男子通过代理机构寻得柬埔寨“邮购新娘”：代理机构为其选好对象，韩国男子到柬埔寨与对象见面并于几天后完婚。柬埔寨政府推出此项禁令是担心不少柬埔寨女子嫁出去之后会被外国丈夫卖到妓院或者“当奴隶使唤”。不过，也有人表示此项禁令有歧视女性之嫌，称政府只禁止女性与50岁以上外籍男子结婚，对男性却没有任何限制。

Cambodia has banned foreign men over the age of 50 marrying local women in an effort to combat sham marriages and human trafficking.

Cambodia has banned foreign men over the age of 50 marrying local women in an effort to combat sham marriages and human trafficking.

Even those overseas men lucky enough to be under the threshold will have to show they earn more than £1,539 a month – many times the average Cambodian wage – before they can tie the knot with a Khmer woman.

The new crackdown, which came into force at the beginning of the month, seeks to prevent trafficking of women and sham marriages.

South Korean men in particular seek Cambodian "mail-order brides" set up by agencies. The men travel to Cambodia, meet their prospective partners and marry a few days later.

The fear in government circles is that the women may be sent into prostitution in their husband's home country or "used as slaves". Koy Kuong, a spokesman for Cambodia's foreign ministry, said human rights groups had detailed many such cases.

But another spokesman suggested the government was just as alarmed by how things looked, saying it was not "fitting" to see young Cambodian women consorting with aged foreign men.

The ruling has provoked a mixed reaction as it does not affect Cambodian men or foreign women. Some even say it is discriminatory against Cambodian women, despite the effort to protect them from exploitation.

"This is discrimination against women because they will not be allowed to marry men who are over 50 ... while Cambodian men can marry any foreign woman they choose," said Kek Galabru, head of the Licadho human rights group.

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(Agencies)

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）