Rehabilitation programme for girls rescued from child marriage

The State government is implementing a rehabilitation programme for girls rescued from child marriage as a pilot project in Thanjavur district.

So far, the girls rescued from child marriages were lodged in the government homes or accommodated in facilities run by non-governmental organisations where they can reside until they attain the age of maturity or their family situation becomes normal so that they are not forced into child marriage again.

Their duration of stay at such facilities will be normally short before they are allowed to rejoin their families, official sources said.

The State government is contemplating to extend them an opportunity to learn income-earning skills either during their stay at the home or after re-joining their families.

As a pilot project, the State government has directed the District Social Welfare Department to organise a skill training programme for the girls who were rescued from child marriage.

“The government has allocated ₹1,000 a month per child for conducting short-term skill training programme which is being conducted as a pilot programme,” said District Social Welfare Officer K. Rajeswari.

The District Social Welfare Department department has entered into an agreement with the Thanjai Janaseva Bhavan, an NGO, for providing a three-month tailoring training course. At the end of the course, a certificate will be issued to the trainees who can use the same to become members of Women Tailors Cooperative Associations (WTCAs) formed by the department or take up self-employment.

Stating that the trained girls could enrol themselves as members in any one of the three WTCAs functioning in the district to get work orders for stitching free school uniforms, Ms. Rajeswari said these girls might also get preference in distribution of priceless tailoring machines through various welfare schemes or priority in getting financial assistance for taking up self-employment.

Ten girls were undergoing the tailoring training that commenced in Thanjavur recently. Some school drop-uts were also among the trainees, she added.