Crackdown on child marriage leads to multiple arrests in Assam’s Karimganj district
According to police, an underage girl was married in the Patharkandi subdivision of the Karimganj district.
According to police, an underage girl was married in the Patharkandi subdivision of the Karimganj district.
Phulowar Hussain of Jordanga village allegedly married a 13-year-old girl from Chirakhowa village in South Salmara-Mankachar three years ago.
Kanchan, who was facing the brunt of child marriage for the past 11 years, got real freedom on Friday as…
The girl's parents had sold girl for Rs 40,000 and received an advance of Rs 20,000, with remaining amount to be handed over to them after the wedding.
Overall, Unicef estimates that 640 million girls and women living today were married off before they turned 18. Post the Covid-19 pandemic, when poor families were driven to destitution, young girls were married off by many families to reduce their burdens. Indeed, poverty has been identified as a major factor responsible for such marriages, while the other is the impact of climate change.
The chief minister said that the Assam government is discussing bringing a new law in the state against Child Marriage and that the state government's drive against Child Marriage will continue.
Social Welfare Department officials would be directed to conduct proper awareness among families against child marriages.
The NFHS-5 field survey in the State was conducted from 19 January 2020 to 21 March 2020 prior to the lockdown and from 30 November 2020 to 31 March 2021 in the post-lockdown. The survey was conducted under the stewardship of Indian Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR). The surveyors had gathered data from 26,467 households, 27,971 women, and 3,865 men, according to officials.
The number of child marriages in Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Mayurbhanj, Koraput, Keonjhar, Gajapti are more pronounced than the rest of the State, the officials concluded.
The proposed legislation would raise the minimum marriage age from 14 to 16 and limit the age difference between a 16-year-old and their spouse to four years.
