{"id":4035,"date":"2023-02-17T16:33:47","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T16:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=4035"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:51:16","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:51:16","slug":"indias-crackdown-on-child-marriage-terrorizes-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/magazine\/health-and-lifestyle\/indias-crackdown-on-child-marriage-terrorizes-families\/2023\/02\/17\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"India’s crackdown on child marriage terrorizes families"},"content":{"rendered":"

MORIGAON,<\/span> India<\/span> (AP)<\/span> —<\/span> Nureja<\/span> Khatun,<\/span> 19,<\/span> looks<\/span> worried<\/span> outside<\/span> the<\/span> local<\/span> police<\/span> station<\/span> in<\/span> her<\/span> village<\/span> in<\/span> northeastern<\/span> India.<\/span> She<\/span> holds<\/span> her<\/span> six-month-old<\/span> baby<\/span> in<\/span> her<\/span> arms<\/span> and<\/span> waits<\/span> for<\/span> a<\/span> quick<\/span> glance<\/span> at<\/span> her<\/span> husband<\/span> before<\/span> the<\/span> police<\/span> take<\/span> him<\/span> to<\/span> court.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Almost<\/span> an<\/span> hour<\/span> later<\/span> she<\/span> saw<\/span> her<\/span> husband<\/span> Akbar<\/span> Ali<\/span> being<\/span> pushed<\/span> into<\/span> a<\/span> police<\/span> car<\/span> in<\/span> mere<\/span> seconds.<\/span> Before<\/span> she<\/span> can<\/span> get<\/span> her<\/span> answer,<\/span> the<\/span> cop<\/span> slams<\/span> the<\/span> door<\/span> in<\/span> her<\/span> face.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Please<\/span> release<\/span> her<\/span> husband.<\/span> If<\/span> you<\/span> don’t,<\/span> you’ll<\/span> be<\/span> detaining<\/span> me<\/span> too,”<\/span> she<\/span> asked.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Nureja<\/span> Katun,<\/span> 19,<\/span> holds<\/span> her<\/span> 6-month-old<\/span> baby<\/span> to<\/span> release<\/span> her<\/span> husband<\/span> Akbor<\/span> Ali,<\/span> who<\/span> was<\/span> sitting<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> police<\/span> van,<\/span> Morigaon<\/span> district,<\/span> Assam,<\/span> northeastern<\/span> India,<\/span> Saturday,<\/span> 11<\/span> February<\/span> 2023.<\/span> calls<\/span> the<\/span> police.<\/span> she<\/span> takes<\/span> to<\/span> court.<\/span> Hatun’s<\/span> husband,<\/span> including<\/span> a<\/span> Hindu<\/span> and<\/span> Muslim<\/span> priest,<\/span> was<\/span> arrested<\/span> almost<\/span> two<\/span> weeks<\/span> ago<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> northeastern<\/span> state<\/span> of<\/span> Assam<\/span> as<\/span> part<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> sweeping<\/span> crackdown<\/span> on<\/span> illegal<\/span> child<\/span> marriages<\/span> to<\/span> girls<\/span> under<\/span> the<\/span> age<\/span> of<\/span> 18.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span>Nureja<\/span> Khatun,<\/span> 19,<\/span> is<\/span> asking<\/span> police<\/span> to<\/span> release<\/span> her<\/span> after<\/span> carrying<\/span> her<\/span> six-month-old<\/span> baby<\/span> while<\/span> taking<\/span> her<\/span> husband,<\/span> Akbor<\/span> Ali,<\/span> to<\/span> court<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Morigaon<\/span> district<\/span> of<\/span> Assam,<\/span> northeastern<\/span> India.<\/span><\/p>\n

This<\/span> behavior<\/span> terrorized<\/span> her<\/span> and<\/span> hundreds<\/span> of<\/span> other<\/span> women<\/span> like<\/span> her<\/span> who<\/span> were<\/span> married<\/span> before<\/span> the<\/span> age<\/span> of<\/span> 18.<\/span> Many<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> women<\/span> who<\/span> grew<\/span> up<\/span> felt<\/span> angry<\/span> and<\/span> helpless<\/span> as<\/span> their<\/span> families<\/span> were<\/span> torn<\/span> apart.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Khatun<\/span> was<\/span> left<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> care<\/span> of<\/span> her<\/span> Ali,<\/span> who<\/span> in<\/span> 2021<\/span> eloped<\/span> when<\/span> she<\/span> was<\/span> 17.<\/span> As<\/span> a<\/span> laborer<\/span> she<\/span> earns<\/span> 400<\/span> rupees<\/span> (US$5)<\/span> a<\/span> day<\/span> Ali<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> sole<\/span> breadwinner<\/span> in<\/span> her<\/span> family<\/span> and<\/span> her<\/span> couple<\/span> had<\/span> a<\/span> baby<\/span> girl<\/span> when<\/span> she<\/span> was<\/span> six<\/span> months<\/span> old.<\/span> “There<\/span> is<\/span> no<\/span> one<\/span> to<\/span> feed<\/span> us<\/span> now.<\/span> I<\/span> don’t<\/span> know<\/span> if<\/span> my<\/span> family<\/span> will<\/span> survive,”<\/span> Khatun<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>\"\"<\/span>Strict<\/span> measures<\/span> are<\/span> in<\/span> place<\/span> in<\/span> 35<\/span> million<\/span> states<\/span> where<\/span> many<\/span> cases<\/span> of<\/span> child<\/span> marriage<\/span> go<\/span> unreported.<\/span> According<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> National<\/span> Crime<\/span> Records<\/span> Service,<\/span> he<\/span> had<\/span> only<\/span> 155<\/span> child<\/span> marriages<\/span> recorded<\/span> in<\/span> Assam<\/span> in<\/span> 2021,<\/span> compared<\/span> with<\/span> 138<\/span> in<\/span> 2020.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> India,<\/span> the<\/span> legal<\/span> age<\/span> of<\/span> marriage<\/span> is<\/span> 21<\/span> for<\/span> a<\/span> man<\/span> and<\/span> 18<\/span> for<\/span> a<\/span> woman.<\/span> Poverty,<\/span> lack<\/span> of<\/span> education,<\/span> and<\/span> social<\/span> norms<\/span> and<\/span> practices,<\/span> especially<\/span> in<\/span> rural<\/span> areas,<\/span> are<\/span> recognized<\/span> reasons<\/span> for<\/span> child<\/span> marriage<\/span> across<\/span> the<\/span> country.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>UNICEF<\/span> estimates<\/span> that<\/span> 1.5<\/span> million<\/span> girls<\/span> under<\/span> the<\/span> age<\/span> of<\/span> 18<\/span> get<\/span> married<\/span> each<\/span> year<\/span> in<\/span> India,<\/span> making<\/span> India<\/span> the<\/span> country<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> highest<\/span> number<\/span> of<\/span> child<\/span> brides<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> world,<\/span> accounting<\/span> for<\/span> one-third<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> world’s<\/span> total.<\/span> increase.<\/span> According<\/span> to<\/span> data<\/span> from<\/span> India’s<\/span> National<\/span> Health<\/span> and<\/span> Family<\/span> Survey,<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 31%<\/span> of<\/span> her<\/span> marriages<\/span> registered<\/span> in<\/span> Assam<\/span> are<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> forbidden<\/span> age<\/span> group.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Activists<\/span> and<\/span> political<\/span> opponents<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> state<\/span> believe<\/span> that<\/span> Assam’s<\/span> ruling<\/span> party,<\/span> the<\/span> Hindu<\/span> nationalist<\/span> Bharatiya<\/span> Janata<\/span> Party<\/span> (BJP),<\/span> led<\/span> by<\/span> Indian<\/span> Prime<\/span> Minister<\/span> Narendra<\/span> Modi,<\/span> has<\/span> attacked<\/span> the<\/span> majority<\/span> of<\/span> Bengali-speaking<\/span> Muslim<\/span> neighborhoods<\/span> and<\/span> neighborhoods<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> state.<\/span> accused<\/span> of<\/span> making<\/span> arrests.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Ahmed<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> arrests<\/span> have<\/span> done<\/span> more<\/span> harm<\/span> than<\/span> good<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Assamese<\/span> community.<\/span> Most<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> wives<\/span> affected<\/span> were<\/span> uneducated,<\/span> unemployed,<\/span> and<\/span> came<\/span> from<\/span> poor<\/span> families<\/span> where<\/span> the<\/span> husband<\/span> was<\/span> the<\/span> sole<\/span> breadwinner.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MORIGAON, India (AP) — Nureja Khatun, 19, looks worried outside the local police station in her village in northeastern India. She holds her six-month-old baby in her arms and waits for a quick glance at her husband before the police take him to court. Almost an hour later she saw her husband Akbar Ali being […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[562,779,2407],"tags":[57,1120,1121,1122,1123,1124],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/INDIACHKD.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4035"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4040,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4035\/revisions\/4040"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}