The Telangana government is examining a proposal to enact a legislation to regulate the menace of elderly men from Arab countries entering into illegal contract marriages with minor Muslim girls.
Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister Eatala Rajendar said this in the Legislative Council here on Friday, when members cutting across party lines raised the issue during Question Hour.
Over 2,000 such marriages had taken place in the State, mainly in Hyderabad, with the connivance of middlemen and some kazis, but only nine cases were registered between 2011 and 2017.
Framing strict laws
The government should also write to the Ministry of External Affairs and frame strict laws to prevent exploitation of girls from poor families in the State, said TRS member M.S. Prabhakar.
Mr. Rajender, agreeing with the members’ concern said the Chief Minister and the government were examining the proposal to regulate these contract marriages as they were blot to a civilised society.
Addressing basic rights
Mr. Palla Rajeswar Reddy said the decades-old problem was not a law and order issue alone. illiteracy and poverty among Muslim minorities needs to be addressed. Leader of Opposition Mohd. Ali Shabbir said contract marriage was illegal under Islam and these men coming from Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE aged 60and above married minor girls aged 16 or 17 years, and dumped them after spending a few weeks here.
In one case, an Arab married as many as 20 girls at different times and left them.
The poor families were paid ₹3 lakh to ₹4 lakh and the middle men made more money, he said.
Syed Amin Jaffrey of MIM said their party wanted such ‘marriages’ to be stopped and appointment of kazis be regulated and rules framed.
Scrutiny at airport
The existing Central legislation Kazis Act, 1880 was an age old one and Telangana government could bring an amendment and formulate comprehensive rules, he said. TRS member Mohd Salim, who served in the past as Wakf Board Chairman, said scrutiny should begin right at the airport by the immigration officials and if the purpose was illegal contract marriages, they should be deported and conniving kazis be arrested.
Farooq Hussain of TRS said the erring kazis should be booked under the PD Act.
The House agreed to have a special discussion again on the issue during the session.
