The two-week police operation in the state of Assam began on February 3, following the call by the leader of this region, Himanta Biswa Sarma, to abolish this “dismal practice.”
According to Sarma, one in eight women in Assam became pregnant before the age of 18, leading to very high infant and maternal mortality rates. In all, 2,044 people were arrested on the first day of the campaign, according to the state director of police, GP Singh. Among them are 52 priests and local officials who allowed these weddings.
Parents marry off their underage daughters to adults for money
12-year-old girls had been married to men, according to this person in charge. The police registered 4,074 cases that need to be investigated, he added. The legal age of marriage in India is 18, but millions of children are forced into marriage very young, especially in rural areas.
Many parents marry off their teenage children with the idea of improving the financial situation of the family. There are more than 220 million child brides in India, according to UN figures, but the number of child weddings has dropped significantly in this century.
The consequences of these marriages can be devastating, as the girls have to leave school to take care of the house, not to mention the problems they suffer from becoming pregnant at such a young age.
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