Cries get louder as Assam arrests nearly 2,300 men for child marriage

Police and activists say even girls as young as 13-14 years are married off and become mothers, and many even die during deliveries

Cries outside police stations in Assam are getting louder with the state police arresting 2,278 men on charges of child marriage since Thursday.

As police continued arrests even on Sunday, young women, some with their babies in arms, some pregnant, stood outside police stations for hours crying inconsolably seeking release of their husbands. "Take me too," shouted young Sajida Begum and jumped into a police van as she tried to drag her husband out of it outside Bogoribari police station in western Assam's Dhubri district. Sajida, now aged about 17, gave birth to her first baby last month. "Who will take care of us?" Sajida shouted at another policeman, who tried to console her.

On Saturday, police had to lathicharge and fire tear gas shells to disperse a crowd of women and their relatives who staged a protest outside Tamarhat police station in Dhubri district seeking immediate release of their husbands. As many as 126 persons have been arrested only in Dhubri, one of the Muslim majority districts in Assam. Police have registered 4,074 cases with Dhubri reporting a maximum of 374 cases. The arrests have been made as part of BJP-led government's "crackdown" on child marriage, a major reason behind high rate of maternal mortality and infant mortality. More than 50 among those arrested are kazis and priests, who performed the rituals of such marriages, police said.

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"There are heart wrenching scenes outside police stations, court premises and even in lawyer's chambers," Masud Zaman, a lawyer in Dhubri, who is helping such women for bail of their husbands, told DH over phone.

Many among them, arrested under sections of Child Marriage Prohibition Act, 2006, are likely to be granted bail by courts. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on January 23 instructed police to apply the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 against those found marrying girls below 14 years and having physical relationships.

"The charges under the POCSO are non-bailable and those proved guilty may face maximum punishment upto life imprisonment," Zaman said. "But I don't understand why the government decided to apply POCSO in cases related to child marriage as there is already a law to deal with child marriage," he said.

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The Assam CM had said although the crackdown is not targeted against any community, the incidence of child marriage was more in districts with high Muslim populations. Most of the cases have been registered in Dhubri (374), followed by Hojai (255), Morigaon (224), Baksa (153), Nagaon (141), Darrang (125), Bongaigaon (123), Goalpara (157) and Barpeta (81). Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Morigaon and Nagaon are Muslim majority districts. The CM, however, said the problem of child marriage was also found among the tribals and those living in tea garden areas. Following the protests, Sarma, however, said there would be "zero tolerance" against child marriage.

Push factors:

Rafiqul Islam, an anti-child marriage activist in Barpera, while welcoming the police action told DH that most of these girls belong to families with poor economic condition and lack of education. "As the girls don't earn, they become a burden on poor families. So they are married off early and become mothers early too. This puts a serious impact on their health, many even dies during deliveries," Islam, who is part of Campaign Against Child Marriage in Assam, told DH on Sunday. "The problem is more among Muslims in riverine areas and among the Adivasis in tea gardens. "Frequent floods and erosion deteriorates the economic condition of the residents in riverine areas and many areas even lack schools," he said.