Women should embrace motherhood at appropriate age: Assam CM
The Hindu
The Assam cabinet on Monday decided to book men who marry girls below 14 years of age under the POCSO Act
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that women should embrace motherhood at the "appropriate age" between 22 and 30 years, as it would otherwise lead to medical complications.
His comments came in the backdrop of the State government deciding to bring stringent laws and evoking the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, to check child marriages and underage motherhood.
“Thousands of husbands will be arrested in the next five-six months as it is a crime to have sexual relations with a girl below 14 years of age, even if he is her legal husband,” Mr. Sarma said.
The legal age for the marriage of a woman is 18 years.
"Many (men who marry girls) could face life imprisonment," he said.
“We have been speaking against early motherhood. But at the same time, women should not wait too long either as many do ... God has created our bodies in a manner that there is an appropriate age for everything,” he added.
Women who are not yet married should do it soon, he said with a smile.