Last Update: January 28, 2023, 16:15 IST
Guwahati [Gauhati]India
Assam CM Sarma said that women who are not married yet should get married soon. (File photo: PTI) (File photo: PTI)
The Chief Minister also reiterated his government’s commitment to prevent early marriage and motherhood.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday advised women to marry at an early age, citing complications in embracing motherhood. He also said that the “suitable” age for motherhood is 22 years to 30 years.
“Women should not wait too long to become a mother as complications arise. The suitable age for motherhood is 22 years to 30 years. Those women who are not married yet, should get married soon.”
“We have been speaking out against early motherhood. But at the same time, women should not wait too long like many people do… God has made our body in such a way that there is an appropriate age for everything.’
Speaking at a government function in Guwahati, the chief minister reiterated his government’s commitment to prevent early marriage and motherhood.
“Thousands of husbands will be arrested in the next five-six months because having sex with a girl under 14 is a crime, even if she is a legally wedded husband,” Sarma said.
“The legal age of marriage for a woman is 18 years and those who marry minor girls will also be booked. Many (men who marry girls) may face life imprisonment.”
The Assam cabinet on Monday decided to book men who marry girls below the age of 14 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Those marrying girls in the age group of 14-18 years will be prosecuted under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
Giving details of the action, Sarma had said that the decision has been taken to check the high rate of maternal and child mortality in the state. He had said that on an average 31 per cent marriages in the state take place in the prohibited age group.
(With PTI inputs)
read all latest politics news Here