CHENNAI: On an average, at least 10 child marriage cases were reported across Tamil Nadu every day from January to August this year. Of the 2,516 child marriage cases reported in 38 districts in eight months, 1,782 of them were stopped successfully while 734 marriages (29%) could not be prevented.
Namakkal, Salem, Dindigul, Theni, Krishnagiri, Tiruchy, Erode and Cuddalore districts recorded the most number of child marriage cases, shows Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department data. Police have registered 548 FIRs in connection with these cases.
According to the data, with 182 cases, Namakkal district topped the list, and 139 or 76.3% of these cases in the district ended in marriage. While Salem reported 174 cases, Dindigul recorded 158 cases, 138 in Theni, 130 in Krishnagiri, 122 in Tiruchy, 144 in Erode and 109 child marriage cases were reported in Cuddalore. Of the 734 cases that ended in marriage across TN, Namakkal accounts for 19% of cases.
Erode (58), Tiruchy (56) and Salem (45) are the other districts with high number of child marriage cases that could not be stopped. More than 95% of child marriage cases reported in Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and Pudukottai, were successfully stopped, shows the data. Listing out the reasons for their inability to stop these marriages, officials said some marriages are reported only after they are over and some families change wedding venue at the last minute.
‘Gender education should be provided in schools’
Sometimes families in border districts go to other States to solemnize these marriages, officials said. The social welfare department has been conducting awareness drives along with police in areas with high number of child marriage cases. Child helpline number 1098 has also been widely popularised, social welfare department officials said.
“The department is in the process of preparing a standard operating procedure (SOP) to handle child marriages with detailed roles for various stakeholders. It will be released soon,” a social welfare department official said. According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 12.8% of women in the age group of 18-24 are married in Tamil Nadu.
The national average is 23.3%. The survey also states 4.5% teenage pregnancies (15-19 age group) are recorded in TN, compared to 17.7% across the country. In 15 districts --- Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Erode, Karur, Salem, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Tiruchy, Dindigul, Perambalur, Theni, Madurai, Viruthunagar, Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri --- which performed poorly in child-related metrics in previous NFHS survey, centrally-sponsored Mission Vatsalya Scheme is being implemented.
While the State’s performance has been better than the national average, activists said better coordination between departments could help Tamil Nadu achieve zero child marriage status. “Apart from implementing prevention of child marriage act, various departments such as school education and rural development departments should work with social welfare department.
The government should also track if girl children have access to proper education. The scheme to provide Rs 1,000 for girls pursuing higher education is a welcome move. To prevent elopement among adolescent children, gender education should also be provided in schools,” said A Devaneyan, director of Thozhamai, an organisation working for child rights.