GUWAHATI: Assam police have now detained a man for attending a kid's wedding in the Bonagaigaon district, as part of their ongoing campaign against child marriage. This arrest for having witnessed a juvenile marriage ceremony is the first of its kind in the state.
Jahir Ali Mandal, a local of Bongaigaon's No. 2 Supariguri village, was detained on Thursday for reportedly attending his nephew's recent marriage to an underaged female. Today, Mandal will be brought before the court. In cases involving child marriage in the state of Assam, police have so far made 2,666 arrests.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, tweeted in an effort to rally support for the fight against this societal ill: "Our crackdown against child marriage continues with 2,666 arrests made so far. The drive against this social evil will continue. We seek the support of the people of Assam in our fight against this crime."
The Assam government is considering a rehabilitation strategy for child marriage victims as well as financial compensation for the spouses imprisoned in connection with these cases in an effort to end child marriage in the state. In order to formulate the rehabilitation strategy, the state government first established a three-member cabinet committee, which included state cabinet ministers Dr. Ranoj Pegu, Keshab Mahanta, and Ajanta Neog.
According to the 2019–20 National Family Health Survey, child marriages at a rate of 23% and early motherhood at a rate of 11% have led to worrying increases in maternal and child mortality rates in the state. Additionally, it was shown that 31.8% of Assamese women between the ages of 20 and 24 who were married before turning 18 did so. The national average for this was 23.3 percent, thus this was greater.
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