BENGALURU: Activists working for the rights of children in the state have decided to submit a memorandum to the state government asking to declare November 1 as Anti-Child Marriage Day in the state. As per the latest data available from UNICEF from the year 2015-16, the cases of women getting married before 18 years of age is 21.4 per cent across the state.
Taking into consideration the number of child marriages across the state, the activists will submit a memorandum to state Women and Child Welfare Minister Jayamala. Nagasimha G Rao, one of the activists said, “We are stressing on November 1st because this is the day when the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act was implemented in the year 2006.”
Lakshmi Devi (name changed), a resident of Chamrajnagar, is a 19-year-old widow of three. She was married at the age of 13 and lost her husband recently. According to an activist, she is unable to get any jobs as she has not completed her primary school education. She is currently working as a housemaid.
According to UNICEF, the cases of child marriage is high in places like Koppal, Belagavi, Bagalkote, Vijayapura and Yadgiri districts. Meanwhile, less cases have been reported from Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga and Kodagu districts.