Assam woman tonsured as she protested child marriage

Guwahati, October 6, 2018:

A woman in Assam’s Dhubri district was tonsured by three women as she spoke up against the marriage of her minor son.

The police have arrested the three women and produced them in a local court which sent them to judicial custody. The incident occurred on October 2.

The police said the 39-year-old victim, Rashima Bibi, was upset that her second husband Mantu Sheikh had married off their 19-year-old son and as such, the two families always quarreled. Rashima had married thrice and she now lives with her third husband Moinul Haque. The three women arrested are Sheikh’s relatives.

“Following the marriage last year, Rashima had lodged a complaint with the police and later, some people were arrested. The family of Sheikh was not happy with her act. The two families always quarreled over the marriage and the arrest of the people. So, on October 2, they quarreled again. During an altercation, Rashima was tonsured,” Dhubri Superintendent of Police, Longnit Teron, told InsideNe.

“We immediately arrested the three women. They are now in judicial custody,” he signed off.