Thane, Feb 26 (IANS) An attempt to marry off a 16-year-old girl in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Wednesday was foiled due to the timely intervention by the authorities, officials said on Wednesday.
The minor girl was to get married to a 24-year-old man, a resident of Solapur.
The authorities swung into action after the Child Welfare Department office in Pune received an anonymous call and they stopped the marriage ceremony in the Ulhasnagar area from Thane district.
Thane district Child Welfare Officer Ramkrishna Reddy said, “The child welfare committee officials, after getting a timely alert, rushed to the venue where family members from both sides and guests had assembled for the wedding ceremony.”
After they halted the ceremony, the officers met the parents of the minor girl and the man.
During the questioning, it was revealed that the girl’s father was seriously ill and therefore the family wanted to get her married at the earliest, the official said.
A case has been registered against the groom, his and the girl’s parents, the priest who was conducting the ceremony and others under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, he said, adding that the girl now has been lodged at a remand home.
According to the National Commission For Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), child marriage not only deprives children of their childhood and infringes upon their rights to education, health, and protection, but also has far-reaching consequences for individuals, families, and communities,
Despite a decrease in the prevalence of child marriage, it remains unacceptably prevalent, it said.
It said: “The girls, married off when they are minors, face obstacles in education, financial independence, and community participation, facing increased risks of domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, and complications from early childbirth. Though child marriage impacts both genders, girls are disproportionately affected”
–IANS
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