‘Religious leaders should prevent child marriages’

Ongole: The religious leaders and the government officials should work in tandem to prevent child marriages in the district, said Syed Basheer, member of the Child Welfare Committee, Prakasam district. 

He was the chief guest at the workshop on ‘Consultation with religious leaders on prevention of child marriages’ held by the HELP, Girls Advocacy Alliance with the religious leaders and girls, at the Women and Child Welfare Office, here on Saturday.

Basheer asked the religious leaders who perform and participate in marriages to alert the government officials and stop child marriages. He asked them to create awareness among people on child marriages and their adverse effects, whenever possible. 

Child welfare officer N Jyothi Supriya said that child marriages are going on in the district though the child welfare department, child line and HELP NGO are striving to create awareness. She said that the help of religious leaders is most in controlling child marriages.

Christian religious leader K Samrat announced that they created awareness on child marriages in the district. 

Muslim religious leader Shaik Abdullah said that they are also creating awareness among the religious elders. P Srinivas, Hindu religious leader, also said that they are not allowing any child marriages.