Published: Less than 20 min ago
Indian authorities have arrested around 2,000 people in a crackdown on banned child marriages. The efforts were made in the north-eastern part of the country.
For two weeks, police in the state of Assam will deploy extra resources to reduce the number of child weddings. There are about 220 million women who are married off as children, although the number given away as children has fallen drastically in recent decades.
The police operation has been ordered by the state’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who at the same time appeals for the public’s help to eradicate “the evil phenomenon”.
Among the 2,044 people arrested during the first day’s police operation were around 50 priests and government officials.
The legal age for marriage in India is 18, but many girls are forced into marriage as early as the age of 12, according to state police chief GP Singh.
Relatively high infant and maternal mortality in the area is believed to be due to the fact that many mothers are young.