Assam passes bill to make registration compulsory for Muslim marriages
GUWAHATI: The Assam Assembly on Thursday passed the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024. This will replace the British-era The Assam Moslem Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935.
“Today is a historic day in our effort to fight the social evil of child marriage. The #AssamLegislativeAssembly has passed the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X.
This Act will now make it mandatory to register marriages with the government and cannot contravene the legal age of marriage of 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys, he said, adding, it will also act as a strict deterrent against teenage pregnancy and improve overall growth of girls.
“I thank all the legislators who pledged their support to this Bill and Govt's vision of preventing child marriage. This Bill is above party politics and is a means to give our girls a life of dignity,” Sarma further posted on X.
Earlier in the day, he told the Assembly that the government’s aim was not only to abolish child marriages but also to get away with the Kazi system. He said all marriages would be registered as per an order of the Supreme Court. It emerged during the discussions in the Assembly that Assam has 90 Kazis, most of them government teachers.
On August 22, revenue and disaster management minister Jogen Mohan stated in the statement of Object and Reasons that The Assam Moslem Marriages and Divorces Registration Act was adopted by the British India government for the then Province of Assam for Muslim religious and social arrangements. He said under it, the registration of marriages and divorces is not mandatory and the machinery of registration is informal.
“There remains a scope of registering marriages of intended person below 21 years (in case of male) and 18 years (in case of female) and hardly any monitoring (is) made for (the) implementation of this Act throughout the state which attracts and invite huge amount of litigation in the criminal/civil court,” Mohan said.
“There is a scope of misuse by both authorised licensee (Muslim marriage registrars) as well as by citizens for underage/minor marriages and forcefully arranged marriages without the consent of the parties,” he further stated.