A UAE national accused of forcibly marrying an orphan in India has been charged with child marriage and sexual offences, local media have reported.
Eight others, including the Ras Al Khamiah man’s mother, also have been charged in relation to the marriage, which the 17-year-old Kerala girl says she was forced into by orphanage authorities on June 13.
She alleges her husband sexually exploited her before secretly leaving the country two weeks later. He phoned her on August 6 to declare he had divorced her, she said.
The underage marriage has sparked fury in Kerala and demands for the girl’s orphanage to be shutdown.
The State Human Rights Commission has ordered an investigation.
Women activists, political leaders and NGOs in Kerala have called for an amendment to legislation that allows Muslim girls to be married at the age of 16, which locals say encourages Arab men to marry young Indian Muslim girls, according to First Post India.
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