Tamil Nadu Social Welfare Department To Conduct Awareness Campaigns For Preventing Child Marriages

The Tamil Nadu Social Welfare department is launching awareness programmes in each of the state's 38 districts in response to the alarmingly high number of child weddings that have been recorded in the state. According to Social Welfare Department sources, Namakkal is the district with the highest number of child marriages, followed by Cuddalore, Dindigul, Salem, Krishnagiri, Theni, Tiruchi, and Erode.

Data from the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment department show that the state has seen an average of 10 child weddings per day so far this year. The data witnesses 2,516 child marriages between January and August. According to the department, out of the 2,516 child marriages registered, 1782 marriages might have been prevented while 734 actually occurred. With 182 child marriages recorded from the district alone, Namakkal reported the most incidences of this.

548 FIRs have been filed by the police in relation to the state's child marriages. Concerned by the surge in child weddings, Tamil Nadu's Social Welfare Department is implementing awareness campaigns all around the state. In order to raise awareness in movie theatres and in-between popular television programmes, the department is now filming brief videos with actors and television personalities.

Furthermore, in order to stop child weddings, the department also intended to collaborate with the rural department and the state department of education as school reporting can stop the majority of marriages. Rural departments may be useful in identifying people who are preparing to marry their minor children.