Source:
https://scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3209011/indian-police-arrest-1800-men-crackdown-underage-marriage
Asia/ South Asia

Indian police arrest 1,800 men in crackdown on underage marriage

  • More arrests are likely and will include people who help to register such marriages in temples and mosques
  • The nation is home to the largest number of child brides in the world at around 223 million, UN estimates
A young actress plays the role of an underage bride as part of an event organised by Amnesty International. Photo: AFP

Police in Assam have arrested more than 1,800 men for marrying or arranging marriages to underage girls, launching what the eastern Indian state’s chief minister said on Friday was the start of a sustained crackdown on the practice.

Police began the arrests on Thursday night, and more were likely, including of people helping to register such marriages in temples and mosques, Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

“Child marriage is the primary reason behind child pregnancy, which in turn is responsible for high maternal and infant mortality rates,” he said.

Marriage under 18 is illegal in India, but the law is openly flouted.

The United Nations estimates that the country is home to the largest number of child brides in the world at around 223 million. Nearly 1.5 million underage girls get married there every year, UN children’s agency Unicef said in a 2020 report.

“From Muslims to Hindus, Christians, tribal people to those belonging to the tea garden communities, there are men from all faiths and communities who got arrested for this heinous social crime,” Sarma said.

The Assam government has registered cases related to child marriage against 4,004 people, he added.

Nationwide, up to 200,000 cases of child marriage were stopped by the authorities between 2015 and 2020, while the National Family Health Survey, for 2019-2021, revealed that 6.8 per cent of teenage girls aged 15 to 19 were pregnant at the time of the survey.

The data also revealed 23.3 per cent of women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18, although that is illegal. Around 635,000 households took part in the survey.

Additional reporting by South China Morning Post