Sustha Samaj Bikash Chakra writes to NCW requesting orders against child marriage crackdown

Guwahati: A letter about the atrocities committed in Assam in the name of combating child marriage was sent to the National Commission for Women by as many as 16 distinguished persons under the auspices of Sustha Samaj Bikash Chakra (SSBC).

Dr. Hiren Gohain, Dr. Indrani Dutta, Maini Mahanta, president of SSBC Dr. Apurba Baruah, vice-president Dr. Manorama Sharma, Sitanath Lahkar, Deben Tamuli, Dr. Jayashree Bora, Najib Ahmed, Mahesh Deka and Robin Dutta were among those who were signatories to the letter.

They wrote to the NCW to direct the Assam government to take steps to ensure that the atrocities on the citizens and especially women do not happen.

Sustha Samaj Bikash Chakra noted that the women and children of families that have been negatively affected by the government’s poorly thought-out measures in the letter that was physically and electronically addressed to NCW.

The letter also drew attention to the fact that the government had not launched any programmes to educate the less educated residents of rural areas about the dangers of child marriage and the fact that it is against the law. As a result, some rural residents were unaware of the problems with child marriage. They simply continued the practise since it was a component of long-standing customs and social standards.

The letter stated that the government had long ignored the country’s child marriage laws, even after designating a representative to oversee the issue. Then, all of a sudden in February, the government appointed Panchayat Secretaries as Child Marriage Prohibition Officers and carried out this illegal act with their assistance.

The letter also included information that had been published in various media to emphasise the problems that thousands of people had to deal with.

Via the letter, these residents appealed to the NCW to urge the state government to stop this unlawful campaign immediately as well as to protect the innocent women who have suffered the most as a result of this utterly foolish, immature, and vengeful action.

Furthermore, the Sustha Samaj Bikash Chakra has made the decision to file an appeal with the Human Rights Commission regarding the campaign’s alleged human rights breaches.