Anantapur: HANDS working jointly with ICDS to end child marriages

Anantapur: Human and Natural Resource Development Society (HANDS) is working with Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) of the Woman and Child Welfare Department for eradication of child marriages and teen age pregnancies through its project dubbed as 'Girls Advocacy Alliance.'

Talking to The Hans India, HANDS Project Coordinator Kondappa said that he received 136 complaints from 10 mandals in the district including Gooty, Guntakal, Tadipatri and other mandals relating to plans to perform child marriages from anonymous people and in a few instances from the child brides, who did not like to get married but pursue education beyond tenth grade. The girls who complained to the tollfree number were aged between 13-15 years. About 42 complaints are related to girls in the age group of 13-15 years. Most marriages fixed were foiled by the ICDS authorities who are authorised to stop the marriages.

The organisation, Kondappa said is working with ICDS to educate the rural people and even stalled fixed child marriages. Asked what prompted the parents of girls to perform marriages under below 18 years, Kondappa said there were several compulsions including insecurity of girls who attained puberty as most of the parents leave their girls at home alone for the whole day making them vulnerable to influences from boys and sexual exploitation by boys.

The other reasons being love affairs, possibility of girls succumbing to pre-marital sex and pre-marital pregnancies, which force parents to dispose them off after attaining puberty. Unable to take care of young girls financially is also another reason to pass on the responsibility to their son-in-law through early marriage. To a question, Kondappa stated India stands first among top 10 countries where child marriages are rampant. 41 percent of girls marry under the age of 18 years in India. 45 percent of girls below 18 become pregnant. In Anantapur district, 4,741 girls are still not attending schools. The dropouts are vulnerable for child marriages.

Kondappa has appealed to public to inform of any child marriage to toll free number 1098 to curb the menace.