The death of a 16-year-old to-be mother during child delivery at home in Jogighopa of Bongaigaon district is one of the most compelling reasons as to why the Government of Assam initaited a drive against offenders of child marriage in the State. Although, she was rushed to the hospital after her health deteriorated, by then all was over. The subsequent arrest of her husband and father-in-law is of no consequence to the parents of the deceased.
Like her, thousands across the State have lost lives even during institutional deliveries because they are underage and not ready to bear the ramifications that come along with childbirth by underaged women.
On January 23, in a Cabinet decision, a perturbed Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma cited damning figures from the National Family Health Survey (5) released in 2022 to his ministerial colleagues and called for action under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 and the Prevention of Child Marriages Act (PCMA), 2006 in the State to stem needless loss of lives and other societal consequences. Since then, (based on information shared by the Chief Minister on Feb 17) 3047 people have been arrested under the two laws by the police, which have registered 4235 cases in the last five weeks, while the total number of offenders have been identified at 6707, while those in judicial custody numbers 2587. The Chief Minister made it abundantly clear in his subsequent interaction with the media that this action will continue until the Assembly polls in Assam in 2026.
The move has got solid support from major quarters, including NGOs and others organisations working for the welfare of women and children across the State. One among them being Kailash Satyarthi Children Foundation, managed by the Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi.
“The action by the State Government is the first ever stringent step by any State Government in the country to protect children by applying laws of the land in both letter and spirit,” read a release issued by the Foundation to the media across the country.
Miguel Das of Utsah, an NGO working for children rights in Assam, welcomed the action of the State Government. “Child marriage is a gross violation of the rights of children. We welcome the decisiveness of the Chief Minister in coming down hard on those responsible for this,” he told Asom Barta, adding that this will sensitise the people on the subject.
Rofiqul Islam of Barpeta has been working on preventing child marriage since 2015. Talking to this reporter, he narrated the challenges that he has been facing since, including an incident that took place in 2016 in Howli of Barpeta district where they managed to convince the families of the to-be bride and groom after relentless persuasion, and great personal risk.
“The families of the bride involved in child marriages are mostly illiterate and economically poor. To rid the society of this, it is important to encourage families to invest in the education of the girl child,” he said. “This is what I expect the Government to focus on.”
Mridula Sarma, an academic, who recently completed her doctoral thesis on the topic of the health of pregnant women in tea gardens of Sonitpur district, said that she had noticed disturbing trends during her research in these gardens. “During my research, I observed that child marriage was prevalent in these tea gardens with major consequences. I appreciate this move by the Government of Assam. I think improvement in education and medical facilities will go a long way in preventing the incidences of child and maternal mortality,” she said.
The Assam Chief Minister, days after the drive began, told the media that there will be enough provision in the State’s forthcoming Budget to take care of the issues arising out of the drive, including rehabilitation and subsistence of those pregnant women and young mothers. “We will have a call centre to create awareness among the people. There will be a network of agencies, including intelligence gathering, to root out the system,” he said, making it clear that the drive is here to stay.
