THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was not just the census figures, now even social justice minister K.K. Shylaja has publicly stated that child marriages are a reality in a state that boasts of a gender ratio encouraging to females.
The Social Justice Department, therefore, has set a target for itself: eradicate the regressive social custom of child marriages in the state in two years, by the end of 2019.
As a first step, the Department has made it mandatory for child development protection officers (CDPOs) to keep a record of efforts made to check such marriages within their jurisdiction.
Census 2011 figures show that over 2 lakh boys and girls below the age of 19 are married in the state. Of this, 3,300 have been widowed before 19; and 2,758 have been either separated or divorced before 19.
CDPOs have been ordered to initiate strict penal proceedings against parents pushing girls below 18 years into marriage. CDPOs, also designated as child marriage prevention officers, have been trained to respond effectively in three situations: one, when a child marriage is about to take pace in a society; two, when a child marriage is taking place; and three, when a child marriage has already taken place. Anganwadi workers have been asked to provide details of child marriages being planned within the catchment area of their respective anganwadi. All actions taken either to prevent the marriage or take the parents to task should be meticulously recorded.
"The two-year deadline to eradicate child marriages is a reasonable deadline. If people's representatives and religious bodies are made part of the mission, it can be considered even easy," a top Social Justice official said. However, the official felt that more time would be required to rid coastal and tribal areas of the menace. "In such places, child marriage is inlaid in their culture. It is still not considered morally reprehensible.
“Intense awareness programmes are needed to pull the communities out of this custom," the official said. That child marriages were more rampant than was thought became evident when the UDF government issued a circular in 2013 directing local bodies to register marriages of girls below the age of 18.
In just about 10 days, local bodies across the state received nearly 51,000 applications for registration of marriages involving girls below 18 years. Most were from Malappuram and Palakkad districts. The census figures, too, have confirmed the high prevalence in both these districts.
