Gujarat sees 21% jump in reporting of child marriages
Parth Shastri | TNN | Updated: Jan 28, 2019, 05:58 IST
Picture used for representational purpose onlyAHMEDABAD: Counsellors of Abhayam 181 helpline received a call in the dead of night that two couples ready to tie the knot at a mass marriage in a village near Anand in April last year were minors.
When the team reached the spot they found the wedding revelry in full swing and nine couples from the same community set to marry.
When age-proof documents were checked it was found 14 of the 18 marriage candidates were underage.
The year 2018 saw a 21% jump in reporting of child marriages to the helpline. Against 143 marriages reported in 2017, the last year reported 174 or three child marriages per week.
“We informed the district authorities about the tip-off, after which teams with child protection officer and police also reached to the spot. All the 18 parties — from bride and groom’s side — were asked to furnish documents related to age. At the end of the scrutiny, it was revealed that 14 of the participants or seven couples were below 18 years of age,” said an Abhayam official.
According to the helpline officials, the youngest marriages were reported in Banaskantha district where two girls aged five and nine were saved from being married and ceremonies stopped. The participating families claimed that the marriages were taking place according to custom where the girl goes to her husband’s home only after attaining adulthood.
Falguni Patel, a coordinator for the project, said that there is more awareness about the issue of child marriage and that is getting reflected in more information received in recent years.
“While almost all the regions of Gujarat reported prevalence of child marriage, a few communities feature prominently where unions at young age is still practised due to socio-economic reasons,” Patel said.
She added, “In a case near Palanpur, a minor girl was getting married along with her adult sister as the family wanted to get both sisters married off in the same ceremony. The most common age group for the practice is 16 to 17 years where the girls are a few months short of 18 years of age,” said a senior Abhayam official, adding that formal complaints are seldom filed as the families usually agree to postpone the ceremony till the bride and groom attain adulthood.
When the team reached the spot they found the wedding revelry in full swing and nine couples from the same community set to marry.
When age-proof documents were checked it was found 14 of the 18 marriage candidates were underage.
The year 2018 saw a 21% jump in reporting of child marriages to the helpline. Against 143 marriages reported in 2017, the last year reported 174 or three child marriages per week.
“We informed the district authorities about the tip-off, after which teams with child protection officer and police also reached to the spot. All the 18 parties — from bride and groom’s side — were asked to furnish documents related to age. At the end of the scrutiny, it was revealed that 14 of the participants or seven couples were below 18 years of age,” said an Abhayam official.
According to the helpline officials, the youngest marriages were reported in Banaskantha district where two girls aged five and nine were saved from being married and ceremonies stopped. The participating families claimed that the marriages were taking place according to custom where the girl goes to her husband’s home only after attaining adulthood.
Falguni Patel, a coordinator for the project, said that there is more awareness about the issue of child marriage and that is getting reflected in more information received in recent years.
“While almost all the regions of Gujarat reported prevalence of child marriage, a few communities feature prominently where unions at young age is still practised due to socio-economic reasons,” Patel said.
She added, “In a case near Palanpur, a minor girl was getting married along with her adult sister as the family wanted to get both sisters married off in the same ceremony. The most common age group for the practice is 16 to 17 years where the girls are a few months short of 18 years of age,” said a senior Abhayam official, adding that formal complaints are seldom filed as the families usually agree to postpone the ceremony till the bride and groom attain adulthood.
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