VIRUDHUNAGAR: Accounting for a staggering 22.39% of the district’s 3,164 teen pregnancies in the past decade, Sivakasi, with 710 cases of teen pregnancies tops the list among 11 blocks in the district. The hub for cracker production and calendar manufacturing has become a hotbed for teen pregnancies, with the number skyrocketing from 18 in 2014 to an alarming 126 in 2024.
Officials from the Social Welfare Department noted that the majority of such pregnancies stem from child marriages and over 80% of child marriages are due to elopement. They also pointed out that dropping out of school majorly contributes to child marriage.
When TNIE analyzed the high and higher secondary schools' potential school dropout survey (class 9 to class 12) in the district for the current academic year, with 338 dropouts Sivakasi again tops the list among the other blocks, accounting for 25% of the district's total dropouts.
The survey also reveals that many have discontinued their education citing lack of interest. "Apart from the efforts from the school teachers and headmasters, special drives were also carried out where the senior officials from different departments visited the houses of dropouts to readmit the students. Following our continuous efforts and counselling, we have only been able to readmit 61 students in Sivakasi. Many students were firm on not coming to school and many discontinued in a short span after re-admitting. We are also not receiving good cooperation from their parents," an officer who was a part of the drive said.
Speaking to TNIE, child rights activist A Devaneyan said that amidst cracker manufacturing jobs at the units, many residents in Sivakasi manufacture crackers at their homes every day. "Growing up in such an environment, the students are keen to earn and the parents also don't dissuade the children from working. In such working environments, due to peer pressure, many teens who fell in love elope without any awareness," he said.
An official pointed out that once the parents find that their daughters are in love, they begin arranging for marriages immediately within their community. "Due to fear of getting married to another person, the girls elope and marry the person they were in a relationship with. The majority of child marriages happen in girls aged 15 and above with men who are in their 20s. In most cases, the parents don't include the daughters in their families after the marriage. The couple start living together and are again trapped in the loop of manufacturing crackers," the official said, highlighting that a few months after the marriage, many of these teen girls become victims of domestic violence, and dowry harassment and are even abandoned by their partners. "As the girls lack a secure career and support from their family, they find it hard to lead their lives during such hardships," the official added.
Social Welfare Officer Sheela said that to curb such issues, awareness programmes stressing the importance of education are held across schools and colleges in the district, and a special focus is on Sivakasi. Official data reveals that with 46 child marriage attempts in the last three years, Sivakasi holds the record for the highest number of attempted child marriage cases (300) across the district. "The team has been actively working on stopping child marriages and 199 among the 300 attempts were stopped, including 28 in Sivakasi," she added. Sources from the district administration said that collector VP Jeyaseelan had directed the HMs to form a committee with two other teachers in their school to ensure that the dropouts return to school before the half-yearly examinations.
Meanwhile, Devaneyan stressed the need for multi-convergence department intervention and strengthening the village-level Child Protection Committees to end child marriages, teen pregnancies, and school dropouts. "Since the issues for children in Chennai will not be the same as in a rural district such as Virudhunagar, a state-level action plan will not work out. The government has to identify hotspots such as Sivakasi and devise a taluk-level action plan to address the issue. A targeted approach must be followed by the government to end such issues and work towards it." he said.
Teen pregnancies across eleven blocks in the district (2014-2024)
Sivakasi-710
Rajapalayam-481
Virudhunagar- 320
Sattur- 298
Vembakottai- 297
Kariapatti- 242
Aruppukottai- 234
Watrap- 211
Tiruchuli-158
Srivilliputhur - 116
Narikudi-97
Total - 3,164
Teen pregnancies in Sivakasi (2014-2024)
2014-2015: 18
2015-2016: 18
2016-2017: 25
2017-2018: 37
2018-2019: 79
2019-2020: 81
2020-2021: 90
2021-2022: 126
2022-2023: 110
2023-2024: 126