Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday mentioned that till he’s alive, he gained’t permit the wedding of teenage ladies in Assam. He was talking within the state meeting because the Assam Cabinet on Friday abrogated the Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act of 1935. “We will not rest in peace until we completely close the shop that you people have opened to ruin the daughters of the Muslim community,” the CM added. The determination got here after a gathering the place the cupboard permitted the ‘Assam Repealing Ordinance 2024’ and nullified the 89-year-old Act.
What Is the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act of 1935?
Enacted in 1935, the Act outlines the process for registering Muslim marriages and divorces. An modification was made in 2010 which changed the time period ‘voluntary’ with ‘obligatory,’ mandating the registration of Muslim marriages and divorces in Assam. The Act empowers the state to concern licenses for the registration of marriages and divorces for any Muslim particular person. The Act designates Muslim registrars as public servants and specifies the appliance course of for marriage and divorce registration with the registrar. The Act was consistent with Muslim private regulation.
Rationale Behind Abrogation The Law?
CM described this transfer as one other notable stride in stopping little one marriages in Assam. He mentioned that the Act permits marriage registration even when the bride and groom are under the legally marriageable ages of 18 and 21, respectively. An announcement from the Cabinet assembly characterised it as an “outdated pre-Independence Act from the British era for the then Province.” It additionally identified that the registration mechanism within the Act is casual thus “allowing non-compliance with existing norms.”
The Act governs the ‘nikah and ‘talaq’ within the state and for the registration, the ‘kazi’ have been appointed by the federal government. According to reviews, many kazis misused their energy and usually allowed marriage of a minor.
This transfer comes two weeks after the BJP-ruled Uttarakhand turned the primary state in India to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The BJP-led authorities in Assam has expressed an analogous intention. In the phrases of Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah, the repeal of the Act is an important step towards this goal. He additionally talked about that with the Act’s repeal, Muslims could be required to register marriages below the Special Marriage Act as an alternative.
Link With Child Marriage
Last 12 months, the Assam authorities initiated an unprecedented crackdown in opposition to little one marriages, arresting over 4,000 people and prosecuting most below the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The authorities is dedicated to eliminating little one marriage by 2026. The particular provision of the Act that the chief minister talked about as permitting little one marriage pertains to the method of submitting a wedding utility to the registrar. It states: “…provided that if the bride and groom, or both, be minors, the application shall be made on their behalf by their respective lawful guardians…”
Political Context Behind This Decision
In Uttarakhand, the place a UCC has already been applied, Muslims represent a much less proportion share, whereas in Assam, this proportion is considerably greater at roughly 34 per cent based on the 2011 Census.
In the previous 12 months, the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led authorities has taken numerous measures within the areas of household, marriages, and copy, seen as addressing these considerations. Apart from the crackdown on little one marriage, the place 62 per cent of over 3,000 people arrested within the preliminary spherical have been Muslim, the federal government has imposed a restrict on the variety of youngsters one can should qualify for a brand new monetary help scheme for rural ladies.
Additionally, there are efforts to draft a invoice criminalising polygamy. Also, CM Sarma has reiterated a number of instances that the Assam authorities is eager in the direction of implementing a UCC, with an exemption for the state’s tribal communities.
