KOCHI : There is a lack of awareness about child marriages in the remote places of Wayanad, Kasaragod and Malappuram, Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KeLSA) executive chairman Justice Muhamed Mustaque has said.
“Apart from tribal communities, child marriage is witnessed in Muslim communities also. It is the lack of education and heavy compulsion that forces them to get married early,” Justice Mustaque said while delivering the keynote address at the state-level consultation meeting convened by KeLSA at the Kerala High Court on Tuesday.
Kerala High Court Chief Justice A J Desai, who inaugurated the meeting, called for the state’s collective attention on the crucial issue of child marriage. “It is a violation of the fundamental rights of the people. India is committed to achieving gender equality by avoiding all evil practices and Kerala has always been at the forefront of initiating social movements and securing a state free of child marriage and rape,” he said.
KeLSA organised the meet in collaboration with the Child Marriage Free India and the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, aiming to eliminate child marriage in Kerala by 2030.
State Police Chief Darvesh Saheb said that most incidents of child marriage occur in the plantation sector. Police officers are well-trained to deal with such scenarios to end child marriage, he added.
According to the National Family Health Survey 5 (2019-21), 23.3% of girls aged 20-24 were married before turning 18. However, in Kerala, this percentage is significantly lower, at 6.3%. It is important to note that the prevalence of child marriage varies greatly within the state’s districts. While Pathanamthitta has zero prevalence and Kottayam and Kollam have a prevalence of 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively, other districts like Malappuram (15.3%), Palakkad (14.1%) and Idukki (7.1%) witness much higher incidents of child marriage.