A paradigm shift has been witnessed in the factors contributing to child marriages, over the years. Easy access and excessive use of modern gadgets like mobile phones, internet and films are the main culprits driving teenagers to tie the knot before they are ready to shoulder the big responsibility.
A shift has been noticed in decision-making, from parents to children (minors) and from arranged to love marriages, say field staff of the Women and Child Welfare Department who have successfully thwarted many such ‘attempt-to-marriage’ cases between minors in the recent days.
A couple of weeks ago, Women and Child Welfare Project Director Krishna Kumari received information about the marriage of a minor girl at Tainerpeta in Chittinagar area. The 17-year-old girl, pursuing intermediate second year in a local college, was planning to get married to her 24-year-old ‘boyfriend’ the next day. Parents, on both sides, threw up their hands, after trying in vain to convince the youngsters to wait until the right age. The department personnel, along with a constable, went to the place and confined the boy to the police station for a night to prevent the marriage and counselled the girl on the need to complete her education first.
“This is a trend catching up, especially in the rural pockets and slum habitations of the urban areas. Young girls, influenced by ‘modern’ lifestyle portrayed in films find easy access to gadgets like mobile phones that provide 24x7 connectivity to their partners. It leads to circumstances that often result in a marriage, regardless of the age,” says Ms. Krishna Kumari.
“A large number of such cases are found among girls who are 10 drop-outs. These girls sitting idle at home develop intimate relationship with boys in the vicinity when parents go to work. In the city, many such cases have originated in slum habitations of Kandrika, Rajiv Nagar, Prakash Nagar and VAMBAY Colony,” says Prasanthi, a supervisor.
B. Manoranjani, Child Development Project Officer (CDPO), talks about the rise in number of parents, who give their nod for marriage of their minor children due to a relentless pestering by the latter.
“They fear that any attempt to stop them may result in their elopement or other such extreme steps,” she says.
“We do not have exact data but these self-initiated marriages by minors are on the rise for sure,” says Ms. Krishna Kumari.
