On Friday, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi criticized the Assam government’s ongoing crackdown on child marriages in a bizarre argument. He said that the minor victims of child marriage who are already impregnated by their ‘husbands’ are scared of the campaign and so are not seeking medical help during their pregnancies. He said that the pregnant girls are not going to doctors as they fear that their husbands and fathers might get arrested.
“Girls under 18 who are pregnant are choosing to deliver their child at home, not going to the hospitals because they are afraid of getting their fathers and husbands arrested,” Congress MP Gogoi said on February 10.
“Today, we got to know a teenage mother died because she bled to death due to complications during childbirth in the absence of community and ASHA workers. Even ordinary families feel that ASHA workers will report the matter to govt and local police,” he added blatantly attempting to defend the child marriage practice in the state.
Delhi | Today, we got to know a teenage mother died because she bled to death due to complications during childbirth in the absence of community & ASHA workers. Even ordinary families feel that ASHA workers will report the matter to govt & local police: Gaurav Gogoi, Congress MP pic.twitter.com/VDfoN01UoQ
— ANI (@ANI) February 10, 2023
This is reportedly a day after a 16-year-old pregnant minor woman lost her life while she was on the way to a hospital in Assam’s Bongaigaon district. The family members of the girl tried to execute her delivery at home amid the massive crackdown but her health deteriorated. She was rushed to Chalantapara health center. From there, the medical authorities recommended her to Bongaigaon hospital.
The minor girl could not bear the labour pain and breathed her last while on her way to the hospital. The police took cognizance of the incident and arrested the girl’s husband and father. The duo has been identified as Sahinur Ali and Aynal Haque.
Gogoi’s argument sought to justify not only child marriages, which are already illegal under Indian law but tried to twist the horrific scene where the families of those minor girls are keeping them away from basic medical facilities to cover up their own misdeeds. Surprisingly, being a lawmaker himself, Gogoi tried to oppose the government’s crackdown on illegal child marriages while batting for families who are subjecting underage girls to life-threatening pregnancies and childbirth without the slightest consideration for their health.
The Assam government launched a campaign to eliminate the practice of child marriage in the state and said that action would be taken against the family members, pujaris, and Kazis involved in child marriage. Accordingly, the state police arrested around 2528 persons for their involvement and alleged participation in child marriage and further declared such marriages as illegal.
The government earlier stated that there are more than 4074 cases filed amid the campaign and actions would be taken against all the accused involved. As reported earlier, there are around 8000 accused named in around 4074 cases from across various districts of the state.
According to the data provided by the state, among the 4074 cases, the largest number, 370, has been registered in the Dhubri district. Following that are 255 in Hojai, 235 in Uddalguri, 224 in Morigaon, 204 in Kokrajhar, and 192 in Guwahati. Hailakandi has the lowest case with just 1.
The crackdown on child marriage was started after the Assam govt in a January 23 cabinet meeting announced that strict measures will be implemented across the state to keep a check on the spike in child marriages in the state. The government had said that legal action against men who marry girls below 14 years of age would be initiated under the POCSO Act and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. Similarly, action will be taken under the prevention of child marriage act in cases where the age of the bride is between 14 and 18 years.
The cabinet also decided to designate all 2,197 Gram Panchayat Secretaries to as ‘child Marriage Prevention (Prohibition) officers’ under The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 to reduce Infant Mortality Rate & Maternal Mortality Rates and prevent child marriages in rural areas. The CM said that the move was based on a thorough discussion of the National Family Health Survey (NHFS) 5 by the state government.
Earlier even as Assam police started nabbing people accused in child marriage cases, some people attempted to flee from the state. Many Qazis accused of performing the marriage of minors have also disappeared from several places.
