VIJAYAWADA: It’s good news that the incidence of child marriages among girls and as well as boys has come down considerably over the years, but the trend is still worrisome, said Krishna district Woman Development & Child Welfare (WD&CW) project director K Krishna Kumari.In a district level consultation meeting held to discuss strategies to tackle child marriages with the line departments on Friday, representatives from Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) and Child Welfare discussed measures to be taken to make the district and the State free from child marriages. Field level officials from revenue and police department and Anganwadi workers explained the problems one faces while tracking child marriages cases.
Dr. P Prudhvikar Reddy, professor at CESS, opined that there is a huge need to change attitudes in rural areas so that the social evil would end once and for all. He said early marriage not only deprive girls of education and opportunities but also increases the risk of death or serious injuries if their bodies are not equipped for child birth.
“Child brides are at a greater risk of domestic and sexual violence. Some communities see child marriage as a way of protecting girls from having pre-marital sex,” he said.“When we come across child marriage cases, instead of registering cases against the parents, we counsel them. Only through awareness can we abolish this age-old practice,” said Krishna district deputy superintendent of police, A Rama Rao.