Law soon to curb marriage of girls to older Arab men?

HYDERABAD: Cracking the whip on the continuous menace of exploitation of minor girls by citizens of Arab countries, the Telangana government is mulling tabling an ordinance or bill in the Legislative Assembly to bring about an end to such incidents. 

According to the minorities welfare department secretary Syed Omer Jaleel, a file has been circulated about the cases in which minor girls have been married to much older men from Arab countries.The file also contains a list of of possible measures that can act as a deterrent if the bill is passed in the Assembly . 

Speaking to TOI, the secretary pointed out that such marriages are akin to human trafficking. "These Arab men take away minor girls and use them as their playthings.They then divorce them. This is wrong. This amounts to exploitation and bears all the hallmarks of human trafficking," he said. 

The file is currently at the office of the advocate general, where it is likely to be reviewed. "The advocate general will make his comments and advise us. We will act on these comments. The file will then be sent to the chief minister, who will decide whether to go for an ordinance or table a bill. However, the process may take some time," Jaleel added. 

The need to closely monitor male citizens of Arab countries has also been recommended. "In case Arabs wish to marry Indian women, they must obtain proper clearance," Jaleel said. 

The minorities welfare department has recommended that the age difference between the man and the woman, in case of a wedding between a male citizen of an Arab country and a woman from the state, must not exceed 10 years. It has also underscored the need for periodic access to India consular officers in West Asian countries for the woman after marriage so as to keep a check on her well-being. 

City girls have been falling prey to much older men from West Asian countries for many years. Several cases have been reported if weddings being conducted in collusion with city-based brokers and qazis, who solemnise the marriages. 

Acting tough on qazis, the minorities welfare department had suspended a government-appointed additional qazi, Mohammed Zaheeruddin, who works at the Legislative Assembly , on grounds that his deputies had solemnised marriages of girls to older Arab men. But despite even arrests of such unscrupulous elements, the practice continues 

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