VHP welcomes law mandating registration of marriage, divorce of Muslims in Assam

New Delhi: The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday hailed the passage of a bill in Assam Assembly, which provides for compulsory government registration of marriage and divorce of Muslims, saying other states should also follow the suit for empowerment of women belonging to the minority community.

VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said the enactment of the law will empower Muslim women and check atrocities against them.

It will also end child marriage, he said.

"Other states should also follow the suit for empowerment of women," he said in a post on X.

The Assam Assembly had on Thursday passed a bill for compulsory government registration of marriage and divorce of Muslim people.

The Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024, was introduced in the state assembly by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Jogen Mohan on Tuesday.

While replying to queries, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said all earlier registrations of marriages conducted by Kazis will remain valid and only new ones will come under the purview of the legislation.

"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.

Sarma said with the enactment of this new law, child marriage registration will be completely banned.

In the Statement of Object and Reason, it has been said that the bill has been proposed for prevention of child marriages and marriages without consent of both parties.

It will help check polygamy, enable married women to claim their right to live in matrimonial house, maintenance, etc, and enable widows to claim their inheritance rights and other benefits and privileges which they are entitled to after the death of their husband, Mohan said.

The bill will also prevent men from deserting wives after marriage and strengthen the institution of marriage, he added.