On 3 February, the Assam Police launched a statewide crackdown on child marriages, arresting over 2,000 people within the first two days, including Hindu and Muslim priests who officiated these marriages.
In the ongoing crackdown on child marriage in the state of Assam, more than 3000 people have been arrested so far. People have been lodged in makeshift jails, sparking protests by women who condemned the arrest of their family's sole breadwinner.
On 3 February, the Assam Police launched a statewide crackdown on child marriages, arresting over 2,000 people within the first two days, including Hindu and Muslim priests who officiated these marriages.
The arrests are being made on the basis of 4,135 FIRs registered across the state. The state government has constituted a cabinet sub-committee on rehabilitation of "victims" of child marriage, and Sarma's cabinet colleagues Ranoj Pegu, Keshav Mahanta and Ajanta Neog have been named as members of the panel.
The state cabinet also constituted a cabinet sub-committee to finalize the rehabilitation policy for the victims of child marriage within 15 days. The decision was taken during the state cabinet meeting held in Guwahati.
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On 6 February, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the campaign against child marriage is for public health and public welfare as the teenage pregnancy ratio in Assam is alarming at 16.8 per cent. "We are determined to continue this campaign till we achieve our objective. I urge people to cooperate with us in controlling this harmful trend."
Protests were held in various parts of the state with wives, children and family members taking to the streets, with a large number of household heads, in many cases the sole breadwinner, being arrested. "The police have taken away our men, there is no one to look after us or provide food for us," Reshma Khatoon, one of the people protesting in Dhubri, told PTI on Monday.
A section of people have insisted that law enforcement alone cannot be the solution while some argue that at least the law is being discussed and can prove to be a deterrent.
Human rights lawyer Debasmita Ghosh said that once a marriage is consummated, the law recognizes it as valid and children born out of such unions enjoy all legal rights. "The law states that a child marriage is void only when a petition is filed in the district court by a person who was a child at the time of the marriage and if the petitioner is a minor, it can be filed through his guardian. he told PTI.
Ghosh has further stated that, "In most arrests, the couples may now be adults and if they have not filed a petition for annulment of their marriages, the state has no right to interfere in their private life. " Moreover, the law was enacted in 2006 and the name itself suggests that the marriage should be 'prohibited' but why was it not done by the agencies responsible for it?'
Child rights activist Miguel das Queh has said that with the arrest the state government definitely wants to send a strong message that child marriage must stop, however, he added that the government should have considered such protests as an act. "As per the law, if both the girl and the boy were minors at the time of their marriage but are now majors, they will not be punished but action will be taken against the adults who arranged the marriage," he added.
Women's rights activist Anurita Pathak Hazarika told PTI that social analysis of child marriage needs to be looked at from a gender perspective and how inequality affects these practices. Awareness on such issues including sexual reproductive health rights should be institutionalised. He included it in the school curriculum.
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