A measure mandating the state’s registration of Muslim marriages and divorces was approved by the Assam Assembly on Thursday. The Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024, according to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, is intended to improve the lives of young girls.
Jogen Mohan, the minister of revenue and disaster management, introduced the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024 on Tuesday. This new rule in Assam would outright prohibit the registration of child marriages.
We are not interfering with the marriages solemnised by Islamic rituals under Muslim Personnel Law at all. Our only condition is that Islam prohibited marriages will not be registered,” he added.
According to the new rule implemented in Assam, the registration of all Muslim marriages and divorces with the government is now mandatory. The bill also states that marriage between people not of the legal age (18 years for women and 21 years for men) will not be registered and considered valid.
The purpose of the bill is to stop child marriage, underage pregnancies, and unions that don’t have both parties’ agreement. According to Mohan, the bill will also stop men from divorcing their spouses after marriage.
It will assist in the prevention of polygamy, allow married women to assert their rights to maintenance, the right to live in a marital residence, and the right to inherit as well as other rights and advantages that follow the death of their spouse.
Participating in the conversation, the chief minister declared: “We want to do away with the Kazi system in addition to outlawing underage marriages. Our goal is to incorporate Muslim divorces and marriages into the official registry.”