BENGALURU : While the economic impact of the Covid-induced lockdown and its after-effect has been well documented by now, what has perhaps been ignored is the social implication. Cash-strapped families in rural areas are getting their underage girl children married, and between March and September this year, over 150 cases of child marriage have been registered in Karnataka.
Officials say this may just be the tip of the iceberg and with schools remaining closed, there may be no way to keep track of the status of girl children. In recent cases, two child marriages — one in a remote village in HD Kote taluk in Karnataka and another at Madanpalle in Andhra Pradesh — were stopped in a matter of just three days after The New Indian Express tipped off the police and the Department of Women and Child Development.
On October 25, this reporter was alerted by a member of an NGO about the marriage of a 17-year-old girl hailing from Sidlaghatta in Chikkaballapur district, scheduled to be held at Madanpalle in Andhra Pradesh the very next morning. The reporter tweeted, tagging the Hyderabad police around 5 pm, who, in turn, tagged the Andhra police handle. The latter then tagged the Chittoor police handle. Calls were also made to three police stations in Madanpalle as there was very little time.
Post-lockdown saw more child marriages
Similarly , on October 20, a Twitter user had posted about the wedding of a minor girl happening at a remote village near H D Kote taluk in Mysuru district, tagging this reporter. The district Women and Child Development Department officials were contacted, who, along with the local police, reached the remote village a day before the wedding, and convinced the bride’s father.
The bride-to-be was barely 16 years old. The wedding was called off on October 22, and the girl’s father gave an undertaking that he would not get his daughter married till she attains the age of 18. Commenting on this, Vasudeva Sharma of Child Rights Trust, who was also part of the Madanpalle rescue team, pointed out that March-June is wedding season, when child marriages too take place.
This year, due to the lockdown, not many cases were reported initially, but once the government started relaxing the lockdown, child marriages started taking place and some cases were also registered. “Among the reasons for this increasing trend during Covid times is that many youths returned home with no work. That’s when parents forced them to get married and child brides were chosen,” he pointed out.
According to sources in the Women and Child Development Department, most of the cases were registered in Mysuru, Belagavi, Bagalkot and some other districts. Officials also pointed out that with no schools, parents are getting their children married in villages. “Despite stringent laws, such cases are happening,” they said. By 7 pm Sunday, the Chittoor police reached the spot and counselled the parents of the bride and groom.
They registered a case against the parents of both the bride and groom under the Prevention of Child Marriage Act and also took an undertaking from both parties. Back in Karnataka, Uma Mahadevan, Principal Secretary to the Panchayat Raj depar tment , directed the Chikkaballapur deputy commissioner and other officials to ensure that the girl’s wedding is not held before she attains 18 years of age.