MINOR MOVE

Assam's evangelical crackdown on child marriage to curb high maternal mortality is an imperfect solution to a problem with multiple triggers

- MONOJ GOGOI, TARAN DEOL and HIMANSHU NITNAWARE

THE JOY of being pregnant with her first child lasted just a few hours for Menaka Doley Patir (name changed), a 17-year-old resident of a remote village (all the village names in the article have been withheld to protect identities) in Assam's Dhemaji district. The news of her pregnancy came after the state government launched a crackdown on child marriage on January 23, 2023, using the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA) along with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, 2012 (POCso). In just a month, the Assam police had arrested over 3,000 people, mostly husbands and male family members of underage brides, from across the state. Menaka is a year younger than the official marriageable age of 18 years. If caught, her husband would face imminent arrest and imprisonment of up to 20 years under POCSO for committing sexual assault. Her family has taken the painful decision to undergo an abortion.

They are too terrified to go ahead with the pregnancy, as they know they will not be able to hide Menaka's age. As part of the crackdown, the government has directed hospitals and local health workers to record age-related details for each pregnancy and childbirth. Officials are using the document to identify underage marriages.

Fear grips the state as the crackdown widens. Families are sending underage brides to their parents' homes or to other places to give the raiding officials a slip. Many expectant mothers are opting for home deliveries to evade the authorities. Underage mothers have also stopped taking their children to hospitals over fears of getting identified. Pranita Phukan (name changed) from another village in Dhemaji district waited for four long days before taking her ailing infant to the nearby healthcare centre. By then, the infant had become so weak that he had to be referred to the district civil hospital.