Indian police have arrested more than 2,000 men in a crackdown on illegal child marriages involving girls under the age of 18 in a northeastern state, officials said Saturday.
Those arrested this week included more than 50 Hindu priests and Muslim clerics for allegedly performing marriages for underage girls in Assam, state police chief Gyanendra Pratap Singh said.
In India, the legal marriageable age is 21 for men and 18 for women. Poverty, lack of education, and social norms and practices, particularly in rural areas, are considered reasons for child marriages across the country. "We were struggling and somehow making ends meet. But we were happy together. Who will provide for our livelihood now that my husband has been arrested?" asked a young woman.
"I have asked the Assam police to act with a spirit of zero tolerance against the unpardonable and heinous crime on women," Himanta Biswa Sarma, the state's top elected official,India's Parliament is considering legislation to raise the age for marriage for women to 21 from 18, to bring it in line with men and promote gender equality.
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