Child marriage rife in 9 dists: Survey

Chennai: Even as the Madras high court suggested increasing the marriageable age of girls from 18 years to 21 years, the district-level household and facility survey, has revealed rampant prevalence of child marriage in nine districts in the state, including Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai and Salem.According to the survey done by the Union ministry of health and family welfare, 5.6 per cent of all marriages between 2012 and 2013 in the state comprised girls who were married before the legal age of 18 years. Of the 32 districts in the state, 15 recorded a higher percentage of marriage of girls below 18 years of age than the state average.

Nine districts, in particular, have witnessed child marriages, ranging from 7.1 per cent to 11.6 per cent. Tiruvannamalai district has recorded a maximum of 11.6 per cent of child marriages, followed by Dharmapuri and Salem, with 9.6 per cent and 9.2 per cent respectively, according to the survey, which covered all the districts and collected information from 38,693 married women.

Terming the survey’s findings very shocking, A. Kathir of the Madurai-based NGO, Evidence, said considering the number of marriages happening in TN in a year, the state average of 5.6 per cent indicated a huge number.He noted that as per the national crime records bureau, the state registered only 56 cases in 2013 under the Prohibition of Child Marriages Act. “It only shows the lack of an effective mechanism to monitor and prevent child marriages,” he said, adding that child marriages could be curbed if the government strictly enforced compulsory registration of marriages.

Former public health director, Dr S. Elango, said if the data revealed by DLHS were true, the planners should redo plans to reduce child marriages and focus on the high-prevalence districts. He pointed out that the mean age of marriage for girls had gone up from 16 years to 23.5 years. Tamil Nadu had done far better than Kerala, where the female literacy rate was high, he said.