Officials reported on Saturday that Indian police arrested over 2,000 males in a crackdown on unlawful child weddings involving girls under the age of 18 in a northeastern state.
More than 50 Hindu priests and Muslim clerics were arrested this week for allegedly performing marriages for underage girls in Assam, according to state police chief Gyanendra Prasad Singh.
“We have so far arrested 2,169 men based on 4,074 registered police cases involving a total of about 8,000 men,” added Singh.
Sonali Begum, 17, stands inside her leased home in Guwahati, India, on Saturday, February 4, 2023, as she sobs and explains how her husband Siddique Ali, 23, was arrested by the police. Indian police have detained over 2,000 men in a crackdown on unlawful child marriages in a northeastern state involving females under the age of 18. Begum is seven months pregnant. Anupam Nath / AP
Many instances of underage marriage in the 35 million-person state of Assam go unrecorded.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, just 155 occurrences of child marriages were reported in the state in 2021, and 138 in 2020.
In India, the legal marriage age for men is 21 and for women it is 18. Poverty, lack of education, and social norms and customs, especially in rural areas, are regarded nationwide causes of child marriages.
Images broadcast on Friday showed young mothers with children in their arms, wailing and protesting their husbands’ unexpected detention.
“We were struggling and somehow making ends meet. But we enjoyed our time together. Who will support our family now that my spouse has been arrested?” questioned a young lady.
Singh stated that child marriage contributed to the state’s high baby and maternal mortality rates.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, the state’s chief elected official, tweeted, “I have asked the Assam police to act with a spirit of zero tolerance against the unpardonable and heinous crime on women,”
To promote gender equality and parity with men, the Indian Parliament is proposing legislation that would raise the age of marriage for women from 18 to 21, from the current age of 18.
Smriti Irani, India’s Minister for Women and Child Development, told Parliament on Friday that the measure will allow girls to complete their education, attain economic independence, and attain physical and psychological maturity.
»Over 2,000 males are arrested by Indian authorities for unlawful child weddings«