New Delhi (CNN) Muslim brides in Bangladesh will no longer have to declare whether they are virgins on marriage certificates, the country's high court has ruled.

Activists hailed Sunday's decision as a landmark ruling and an important step towards more gender equality.

Under Bangladesh's Muslim marriage and divorce laws, a bride has to select from one of three options on the certificate: kumari (which means virgin), widow or divorced. Grooms are not required to declare their marital status.

Rights groups, three of which filed the petition against the term in 2014, have long described the term as discriminatory and a breach of privacy for women getting married.

That changed Sunday when the high court ordered the word 'kumari' be replaced with 'unmarried.' The other two options on the form remain unchanged.

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