Guwahati: Assam has recorded an 81 percent decline in instances of child marriage in the state since 2021, states a report by the India Child Protection (ICP), a non-governmental organisation.
The report, titled ‘Towards Justice: Ending Child Marriages’, noted that cases of child marriage in the surveyed villages in Assam declined from 3,225 in 2021-22 to 627 in 2023-24.
“In 30 percent of the villages surveyed in Assam, child marriage has been completely eradicated. Additionally, 40 percent of villages reported a significant decline in the occurrence of child marriage,” the report read.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to social media to share the key findings and said that his government “will not rest, till we eliminate this social evil”.
“This exceptional report by @IndiaCPOrg is shining testament to our sustained efforts in empowering Nari Shakti. With over 3,000 arrests and our zero tolerance approach has led to a 81% decline in child marriages since 2021,” he wrote on X.
In another post, Sarma attributed “Assam’s success” to “strong community support” and “sustained arrests”.
The @IndiaCPOrg report highlights Assam’s success in reducing child marriages by 81%, focusing on two key factors:
1️⃣ Strong community support for taking stringent action against perpetrators
2️⃣ Sustained arrests followed by rigorous prosecutionSnapshots 👇 pic.twitter.com/e8kRHVP1Cg
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 18, 2024
The Assam Cabinet also approved the Assam Repealing Bill 2024 Thursday, which will be tabled in the assembly before the next monsoon session, and will aim to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorce Registration Act and Rules, 1935. CM Sarma wrote on X that the bill was a “significant step to ensure justice for our daughters and sisters by putting additional safeguards against child marriage”.
In January last year, the chief minister had announced the launch of a state-wide drive against child marriage under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012.
Later, in February 2023, a crackdown on child marriage was imposed, which, by its second week, had resulted in 3,015 arrests. At the time, Sarma had vowed to continue the efforts till the 2026 assembly election.
The highest number of registered cases and arrests were in lower Assam’s Dhubri district. According to the ICP report, in terms of the district-wise percent change in the number of girls reported married from 2021-2024, Dhubri registered a 78 percent decline — from 452 cases in 2021-22 to 281 in 2022-23, with 99 girls under the age of 18 getting married in 2023-24.
The state government’s drive in 2023 had also resulted in the registration of 5,225 FIRs. The police had said that the crackdown was launched after data collected over the past couple of years had revealed that at least 8,000 people were involved in cases of child marriage.
Among those picked up were priests and qazis, who are magistrates of Sharia courts, legally empowered to register Muslim marriages.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)