Kerala to act tough on child marriages

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has decided to crack the whip against child marriages in a big way. The Social Justice Department move is based on the conclusion that child marriages are not uncommon in certain pockets of the state but officials tasked with preventing such happenings are turning a blind eye.

District child protection officers, who double up as child marriage prevention officers, have been ordered to initiate strict penal proceedings against parents pushing girls below 18 years into marriage.

Now, DCPOs are reluctant to furnish quarterly reports about child marriages. “Since social and economic factors are behind such marriages, DCPOs at times turn a blind eye to such events,” a top official said. “But their decision not to harm a poor family is tantamount to keeping the tradition alive,” he added. Child marriages take place in certain rural pockets of Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur and even Thiruvananthapuram.

Therefore, it has been made it mandatory for DCPOs to keep a record of efforts made to check such marriages within their jurisdiction. Census 2011 figures show that over two lakh boys and girls below the age of 19 are married in the state. Of this, 3300 have been widowed before 19; and 2758 have been either separated or divorced before 19.

DCPOs have been trained to respond effectively in three situations: one, when a child marriage is about to take pace in a society; two, when a child marriage is taking place; and three, when a child marriage has already taken place.

Anganwadi workers have been asked to provide details of child marriages being planned within the catchment area of their respective anganwadi. All actions taken either to prevent the marriage or take the parents to task should be meticulously recorded.

That child marriages were more rampant than was thought became evident when the UDF government issued a circular in 2013 directing local bodies to register marriages of girls below the age of 18. In just about 10 days, local bodies across the state received nearly 51,000 applications for registration of marriages involving girls below 18 years. Most were from Malappuram and Palakkad districts.