Child marriage cases go up in Malappuram

Increased awareness believed to be the reason for reporting of cases

The number of child marriages reported in the district increased considerably in the last year. The reporting of child marriage cases has gone up so sharply that one in every two days was recorded in 2017 in the district.

Child marriage prevention officers (CMPOs) reported 181 cases in 2017 in the district against 125 cases reported in 2016. The spurt in the number of cases reported is considered to be a direct result of increased awareness among girls in schools.

The District Child Protection Unit functioning under the Social Justice Department had staged on higher secondary school campuses a 15-minute skit titled ‘Aval Parannuyarum’, creating awareness of child marriage among students.

Students had been actively involved in discussions that followed the skit. “It had a tremendously positive impact on our students,” said District Child Protection Officer Sameer Machingal.

The district has the largest number of CMPOs in the State: 29. Most CMPOs had taken special care to report child marriage incidents, in spite of the best efforts by the parents and relatives to hush up the matter.

When 81 cases reached different courts in the district, 78 child marriage plans were thwarted by interim court order. An exhortation by the Chief Judicial Magistrate last year apparently prompted the judges to act with speed and urgency in child marriage cases.

A concerted move is currently on in the district against child marriages, involving CMPOs, Childline, District Child Protection Unit, the police and judiciary. The Child Protection Unit has been convening meetings of stakeholders every month, prompting the 29 CMPOs to meticulously follow up all cases. Most CMPOs have the birth certificates of the girls of 16-18 years of age in their possession. They have been monitoring the girls of that age in certain vulnerable areas.

Bane of society

District Collector Amit Meena had raised child marriage as a bane of society in his New Year message. “A Malappuram sans child marriage is my dream,” he said. Mr. Sameer said that his team was working assiduously with the objective of turning Malappuram into a district without child marriage by 2021. “We hope that we achieve it by next census,” he said.