Child marriages on the sly in lockdown

HYDERABAD: Two cases of child marriage were reported in Hyderabad from March 21 to April 23. With schools shut and the city’s hustle-bustle at a bare minimum amid the lockdown, the parents planned to solemnise lowkey marriages away from the society’s glare.

But, the Hyderabad Childline and police caught them before they could marry off their children. In one of the cases, invitation cards were printed and just a day before the marriage, Childline acted on a tipoff and rescued the girl. “Since the marriage date was so near, we shifted her to Sakhi centre. In the other case, we had the time to counsell the child and warn the family,” Madhav D, a Childline official, said.

The cases, however, were a tough nut to crack as rescue agencies and the general State machinery were busy with Covid duty. Therefore, receiving and acting on tipoffs was difficult. “For us, the biggest challenge is in terms of transport as all modes of transport are closed.

But, we are taking the help of anganwadi workers and police, who were told to keep an eye on telltale signs of child marriage,” Isidore Philips, Director of Divyadisha- Childline, said. In March, a total of eight child marriages took place.

Meanwhile, the rehabilitation of victims was also a major concern as they could not be sent to government shelter homes for counselling. As the shelter homes were not taking admissions, the children were sent back to their family directly. In some serious cases, they were taken to the Sakhi centre and counselled.