KOZHIKODE: Despite the debates that followed the controversial marriage of a 17-year-old girl with a UAE national in Kozhikode last year over underage marriages, and the announcement of stringent checks on this practice by the authorities, child marriages are still rampant in the state, show the data available with the authorities.
As per the data published on the official website of the Kerala Police, 10 cases have been registered under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act till May this year. Last year, the number of child marriage cases was 11 against six cases in 2012.
After the Arabikalyanam incident in Kozhikode last year, the Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) have managed to prevent many underage marriages. However, officials pointed out that their action plan to check child marriages could not achieve cent percent success and the cooperation of more government departments and NGOs was required to avert the menace by imparting effective awareness campaigns.
Recently, a UNICEF survey had revealed that child marriages are on the rise in Kerala, the most literate state in the country. Besides, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) also documented the rise in the number of violations of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006, in the state. Of the 220 cases reported in the country last year, 11 are from Kerala. The NCRB data also show that the state is witnessing a jump in the rate- from 0.06 percent in 2012 to 0.12 percent in 2013. Tamil Nadu (0.28pc), Karnataka (0.13pc), West Bengal (0.15pc) and Haryana (0.19pc) are the other states having a rate of incidence that’s higher than Kerala.
Adding to the woes, Nazeer Chaliyam, acting chairperson of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, told Express that the commission has also come across four complaints of child marriage this year.
However, K C Rosakutty, chairperson of the Kerala State Women’s Commission, pointed out that the Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) are deputed to report the violations of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and they register cases through police. “More people are coming out to report child marriage incidents. However, no such complaints have been filed before the commission so far,” she said.
Sources with the Police Department maintained that many cases were going unreported and still there was no effective way to tackle the social issue. The practice prevails in some marginalised sections in the society, mainly in Northern districts of the state.
Earlier, the practice of Mysore Kalyanam and Arabikalyanam, where Muslim men from Mysore and Arab countries marry minor girls in Wayanad and Malappuram districts and abandon them later, was rampant.