(MENAFN- NewsBytes)
Assam woman beaten, stripped, tonsured for protesting child marriage
07 Oct 2018
A woman in Assam was beaten up and her clothes were torn apart for protesting the marriage of her minor son to a teenage girl.
Rashima Bibi, 39, who is a resident of Boterhat village in Assam's Dhubri district, was also tonsured.
Three women, who are allegedly involved in the crime, have been arrested by the police.
Here's more.
Victim's son was forcibly married off by her ex-husband
Details
"The victim's 19-year-old son from her second marriage was forcibly married off to a minor girl a few months ago by her second husband Mantu Sheikh despite her opposition," said the Dhubri Superintendent of Police Longnit Terong.
"Sheikh and the girl's family were unhappy with Bibi as she had registered a case in August and the some of the accused were arrested," he added.
Rashima Bibi was cornered and beaten on October 2: Police
Fact
"Several members of the girl's family including some women cornered Bibi on October 2 and tonsured her head. Some of her clothes were also removed and hot water poured on her," Terong said.
The bystanders also made a video of the incident
Viral Video
In a video made by the bystanders that went viral on social media, a few women are seen beating Bibi, pulling at her clothes, and tonsuring her head in broad daylight and then celebrating after the victim was made to go through all the torture.
Bibi's third husband Moinul Haque filed the complaint, following which the three women from the video were arrested.
Assam has higher child marriage rate than national average rate
The statistics
Child marriages witnessed a surge in Assam in recent years. There have been 317 incidents of child marriages in 2017-18 as compared to 96 in 2016-17 and 32 in 2015-16.
According to a report on child marriages released recently by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Assam with 16.7% of child marriages has a higher rate than the national average of 11.9%.
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