Child marriage in Assam: In a tweet, Sarma reiterated to end child marriages, claiming that 4004 cases had been reported and that more were likely...
Digital Desk: Assam chief minister,
Himanta Biswa Sarma, announced on Thursday that over 4,000 cases had been registered as part of the campaign against child marriages.
In a tweet, Sarma reiterated to end child marriages, claiming that 4004 cases had been reported and that more were likely. Sarma stated that action will begin from Friday and requested everyone's cooperation.
The Assam Cabinet approved a crackdown on
child marriages on January 23, after the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) conducted between 2019 and 2020 showed that the percentage of women aged between 20-24 married before the legal age of 18 in the state was 31.8%, compared to the national figure of 23.3%.
NFHS-5 showed 11.7% of married women aged between 15-19 years were mothers or pregnant during the period of the survey, compared to 6.8% nationally.
According to the NFHS-4 survey conducted in 2015 and 2016, 30.8% of marriages in Assam involved children, against the national figure of 26.8%. As per the report, 13.6% of married women aged 15-19 in Assam were mothers or pregnant, compared to 7.9% nationally.
Sarma stated that thousands of persons who engaged in child marriages or married minors would be arrested under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. "Those who married children under 14 and also forced them to become mothers would be booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act."
The state Cabinet resolved last month to appoint village panchayat secretaries as child marriage prohibition officers under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. If any child marriages occur in a village, the officer must file a police complaint.
A police officer said that a survey has been conducted since December of last year to figure out the number of child marriages. The latest move is a result of that survey and subsequent Cabinet decision.
Hojai police superintendent Barun Purkayastha stated that they have filed a complaint under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and the POCSO Act against people who married minors in the last three years. "Their arrests, as well as those who conducted these marriages, will begin in the coming days."
Notably. the highest number of such cases (370) has been lodged in Dhubri followed by Hojai (255).
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