Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday reiterated his government’s commitment to check early marriage and motherhood and warned that thousands of husbands would be arrested in the next five-six months as girls below the age of 14 are being sexually assaulted. Having sex with is a crime. Ages. Speaking at a government function, the Assam BJP leader and chief minister also suggested that women should embrace motherhood at an “appropriate age” as it otherwise leads to medical complications.
Sarma’s remarks came in the backdrop of the state government’s move to bring in stringent laws to check child marriage and underage motherhood, and to invoke the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.
“Thousands of husbands will be arrested in the next five-six months because having sex with a girl under 14 is a crime, even if she is a legally wedded husband,” Sarma said.
The Assam chief minister warned that the legal age of marriage for a woman is 18 and action would be taken against those marrying underage girls. “Many (men who marry the girls) may be sentenced to life imprisonment,” he said.
Talking about motherhood, Sarma said, “Women should not wait too long to become mothers as complications arise. The suitable age for motherhood is 22 years to 30 years. Sarma said in a lighter vein that women who have not married yet should get it done soon.
We have been speaking out against early motherhood. But at the same time, women should not wait too long like many people do… God has made our body in such a way that there is an appropriate age for everything.’
It may be recalled that the Assam cabinet on Monday decided to book men who marry girls below the age of 14 under the POCSO Act. Those marrying girls in the age group of 14-18 years will be prosecuted under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
Sarma had said after the cabinet meeting that the decision has been taken to check the high rate of maternal and child mortality in the state, the primary reason of which is child marriage. The Assam CM said that on an average 31 per cent marriages in the state take place in the prohibited age group.