Child Marriage

Child marriages will be eliminated in Assam by 2026, says CM Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated on Monday that his government is determined to eliminating the child marriage menace by 2026 from the state.

Several families have cancelled pre-scheduled child marriages: Assam CM

Several pre-planned child marriages have been cancelled in Assam over the last few days in the wake of ongoing police crackdown

2,789 people held so far as crackdown on child marriage continues: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that 2,789 people have been arrested so far during the ongoing crackdown on child marriage, which completed a week on Friday. The government has also initiated a process to take measures for the rehabilitation of "victims" of child marriage. Now, total arrest 2789. Crackdown continues, Sarma wrote on Twitter. Though protests at various places by families of those arrested have been reported in the last few days, Assam Police spokesperson Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan had on Thursday said that no such incident took place anywhere in the state during the last 24 hours. The Assam Police had launched the crackdown on child marriage on February 3, with over 2,000 people, including Hindu and Muslim priests who officiated these weddings, arrested within the first two days. The arrests are being carried out on the basis of 4,135 FIRs registered across the state. The state government has formed a cabinet sub-committee on the rehabilitation of "victim

Assam govt must help child marriage victims: Kailash Satyarthi's foundation

Assam government's decision to eliminate child marriage by penalising the perpetrators was a welcome step but the state must provide financial assistance, legal support and rehabilitation to the victims, the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation said on Wednesday. The government should immediately provide Rs 2,000 per month from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund as financial assistance to every girl whose husband has been arrested and until he gets bail, said the organisation founded by the social reformer who received the Nobel Peace prize in 2014. The state and district legal service authority should be directed to grant interim compensation within a week to all girls where the police have invoked sections under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) along with sections of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, it added. Assistance should also be given to children born out of child marriages, the foundation's Managing Director Rahul Kumar .

Crackdown on child marriage continues in Assam, total arrests 2,441

Amid opposition criticism and protests, the Assam Police continued its crackdown on child marriage in the state, with the number of arrests totaling 2,441 over a span of three days, officials said. Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma had on Saturday asserted that the drive to end the social menace would go on till the next assembly polls, drawing flak of opposition camps, which called the move a "hurriedly carried out publicity stunt". The arrests have been made based on 4,074 FIRs filed across the state, the officials said. At least 139 people were apprehended in Biswanath district, followed by 130 in Barpeta and 126 in Dhubri, a police statement said. Other districts where over 100 arrests have been made are Baksa (123) and Bongaigaon and Hojai (117 each), it said. Dhubri registered the highest number of FIRs against child marriages at 374 cases, followed by Hojai (255) and Morigaon (224). Protests have been held at different places in the Barak Valley against the ...

Assam govt's motive malicious: Owaisi on crackdown on child marriages

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday questioned the Assam government's motive behind its crackdown on child marriages in the state and said the exercise reflects a "failure of governance" by the BJP dispensation. "There is a malicious motive behind all the action that is being taken," the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader told PTI in a telephonic interview, when asked about the hundreds of arrests made in the northeast state. More than 2,250 people have been arrested in Assam till Saturday in the crackdown on child marriage, according to an official statement by the state government. Owaisi, who was in Lucknow to attend the executive committee meeting of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), said, "As you know the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act was passed in 2006, and it is the BJP's government which is in power in Assam for the last six years. Now, why did the government not stop all these in the last six years? This really shows the failure of

Assam police arrest 2,278 in 3 days in state's child marriage crackdown

The Assam Police continued with its crackdown on child marriage in the state for the third day in a row, with the number of arrests touching 2,278 on Sunday. A police statement said the arrests were made based on 4,074 FIRs across the state. At least 139 people have been apprehended in Biswanath, followed by 130 in Barpeta and 126 in Dhubri, the statement said. Other districts where over 100 arrests have been made are Baksa (123) and Bongaigaon and Hojai (117 each), it maintained. Dhubri registered the highest number of FIRs against child marriages at 374 cases, followed by Hojai at 255 and Morigaon at 224. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had on Saturday asserted that the drive against child marriage will continue till the next assembly elections in 2026. He had said parents involved in underage marriages are currently being let off with a notice. The CM added that men marrying girls below 14 years of age will be facing non-bailable charges, while those marrying girls between

Crackdown against child marriages continues in Assam; over 2,000 held

Barpeta district has the second highest number of arrests, which stands at 128 against the total number of 81 cases lodged

Assam Police arrests 1,800 people in a crackdown against child marriage

The Assam Police have arrested over 1,800 people so far on Friday in a massive crackdown on child marriage, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The crackdown began early in the morning across the state and it will continue over the next three to four days, Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here. The police had registered 4,004 cases of child marriage in less than a fortnight since the state cabinet decided on January 23 to take action, with the arrest of offenders and a simultaneous launch of an extensive awareness campaign. The chief minister said the crackdown was continuing and a clear picture will emerge by evening on the number of arrests and the districts from where those were made. The highest number of 136 arrests so far has been made in Dhubri where 370 cases have been registered, followed by 110 in Barpeta and 100 in Nagaon. Those having married girls below 14 years of age will be booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO

4,004 child marriage cases registered in Assam: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that a total of 4,004 child marriage cases have been registered across the state, adding that "more police action is likely in days ahead"

Assam to book men under POCSO Act for marrying girls aged less than 14

Sarma also said that police have been ordered to launch a state-wide crackdown against child marriage

Men marrying girls below 14 to be booked under POCSO Act: Assam CM

The Assam Cabinet on Monday decided to book men who marry girls below 14 years in the state under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Assam has a high rate of maternal and infant mortality and the primary cause is child marriage. The state has an average of 31 per cent marriages in the prohibited age, Sarma said at a press conference following the Cabinet meeting. Men marrying girls in the age group of 14-18, will be tried under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and necessary steps will be taken against them under this law, the chief minister said. The police have been directed to conduct a massive crackdown against child marriage across the state, he said. A Child Protection Officer will be appointed in every village and it will be the duty of the Gram Panchayat Secretary to file a complaint against any child marriage taking place in their area, Sarma said.

NHRC notice to Maha govt, 8 district collectors over rise in child marriage

The National Human Rights Commission has sent notices to the Maharashtra government and collectors of eight districts in the state's Marathwada region over reported rising instances of child marriage, a senior official said on Friday. The Commission has observed that the contents of the article about the plight of the victims of child marriages, if true, amount to a violation of human rights relating to their life, liberty, dignity, and equality of the poor people, especially the women in the region. The NHRC in a statement said it has taken "suo motu cognisance of a newspaper article highlighting the malpractice of child marriage prevailing in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra due to which a large number of women are forced to lead a miserable life. The article has documented the plight of some child marriage victims in the region". Accordingly, the Commission has issued notices to the chief secretary of Maharashtra and the district collectors of Jalna, Aurangabad, Parbhani, ...

Rajasthan's Dr. Kriti Bharti bags Global Youth Human Rights Champion Award

Rajasthan's Child Marriage Warrior Dr. Kriti Bharti honored with Geneva's Global Youth Human Rights Champion Award

Kailash Satyarthi starts nationwide campaign for child marriage free India

Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi endorsed the idea of the Central govt to extend the marriageable age of girls to 21 from 18 while launching the nationwide campaign for a 'Child Marriage Free India'

Tanzania join hands with Unicef to launch campaign to end child marriage

The government of Tanzania and the Unicef have launched a campaign aimed at ending child marriage in the country

Uttarakhand HC seeks govt reply on marriage of minor girls under Muslim law

The plea said the Muslim personal law allows marriage of girls under 18 years of age. Due to this, courts are bound to provide protection to young married girls who have not yet attained age of 18.

Female infanticide, child marriages to rise if inflation unchecked: Soren

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday said if inflation is not controlled then cases of female infanticide and child marriages will increase in the country.

A third of women married in India in 2018 were 18-20 years old, shows data

West Bengal, Rajasthan and Bihar were worst in terms of women marrying at an early age

Women still bear disproportionate burden in many areas, shows NFHS-5 data

One in 10 women in the hinterland wanted ac­cess to family planning methods in 2019-20 but did not have an opportunity