Guwahati: The Assam government has taken a decisive step towards eradicating child marriage by repealing the colonial-era Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorce Registration Act and Rules of 1935.
This significant move was announced by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday (July 18).
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Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the decision is a “significant step to ensure justice”.
He said that it will provide additional safeguards against child marriage.
“We have taken a significant step to ensure justice for our daughters and sisters by putting additional safeguards against child marriage,” Sarma said.
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He added: “In the meeting of the Assam cabinet today, we decided to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorce Registration Act and Rules 1935 through the Assam Repealing Bill 2024.”
The chief minister also revealed plans to introduce new legislation for the registration of Muslim marriages in Assam in the next assembly session.
This decision follows the state cabinet’s earlier move to transfer all nuptial and divorce proceedings under the 1935 Act to the Special Marriage Act of 1954, further streamlining and modernizing marriage laws in Assam.