Tamil Nadu Steps Up Fight Against Child Marriage, Holds Consultation

With the aim to end child marriage in Tamil Nadu by 2030, State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) and Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department, along with Child Marriage Free India and supported by its partner organization Association for Voluntary Action (also known as Bachpan Bachao Andolan), discussed the various challenges and legal gaps as well as perspective in combating child marriage in the state. From empowering girls with the knowledge about their rights and integrating them with the many available government schemes, to spreading awareness about child marriage among Tribal people in the state, the key speakers brainstormed the way forward for a ‘Child Marriage Free Tamil Nadu’ in the day-long consultation held in Chennai today. Representatives from the Tamil Nadu High Court, Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, SLSA, Police, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Directorate of Social Welfare, Child Welfare Committee and NGOs were present in the day-long consultation.

Other Key Speakers present on the occasion included Muthu Meenal, Additional Director, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department; P.V. Sandilyan, Secretary, District Legal Services Authority; A Mohandoss and Mary Auxylia, Chairpersons, CWC, Chennai North & Tiruvallur respectively; and representatives from NGOs.

Tamil Nadu is one of the few states that can boast of a low prevalence of child marriage and the percentage of women aged 20-24 married before the age of 18 is at 12.8 percent as against the national average of 23.3 percent. Appreciating the state’s awareness and progress in combatting child marriage, Justice P.N. Prakash, former judge, High Court of Madras, said, “India lives in several generations at the same time and while we are evolving, this rate is different in different places. People from lower economical background will find it difficult to understand the ill effects of child marriage, but we should break the norms and stigma. Similarly, we cannot rub our laws on tribal people, nor can we send them to jail. These issues should be taken care with thinking and tenderness.” He further said that girls should be able to take independent decisions not as a charity but as their rights.

Lauding the state government’s resolve to eliminate child marriage, Dhananjay Tingal, Executive Director, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said, “Tamil Nadu has been extremely proactive in this fight against child marriage. On October 16, many government departments in Tamil Nadu led a statewide drive and officials along with the masses had taken pledges against child marriage. This consultation is the next big step to intensify the fight and bring together the various stakeholders to work in tandem to end child marriage by 2030.”

On October 16 last year, various state government departments including SLSA, Education Department, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Social Welfare and Empowerment and Department of Social Defence had issued circulars directing their respective departments and officials to take part in Child Marriage Free Tamil Nadu.

The state government has been extensively working towards stopping child marriages and spreading awareness at the district as well as village levels to end child marriage from the state. Apprising the speakers about the work done at village level so far, Ruth Vennila, Joint Director (Child Welfare), Directorate of Social Welfare, said, “In the last 3 years, 7640 girls were rescued from being married below the age of 18 years in Tamil Nadu. Every 3 months, Social Welfare Department conduct meetings in the district level as well village level to discuss the existing issue and status of child marriage in their district/village. 1178 girls who were rescued from child marriages received skill training as One Stop Centre has also given counselling to the rescued girls. School children should be informed of their rights and also the helplines.”

Talking about the prevalence of child marriages among Tribal people in Tamil Nadu, R. Uma Maheswari, Additional Secretary to the Government, Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, said, “Even though the tribal literacy rate is 50%, the focus of the parents is on the marriage of the girl child rather than on her education; Many child marriages are occurring among tribal people, but it remains hidden. We need to generate awareness among children in schools as well as through social media. Family members too need to be counselled about this serious issue.”

Highlighting the importance of focussing at grassroots level where the issue of child marriage remains most challenging, A. Nazir Ahamed, Member Secretary, State Legal Services Authority, Tamil Nadu, opined, “Both Child marriage and Child labour can be eradicated when Village committees and Block committees work efficiently as they know every nook and corner of their areas. NGOs should come forward and help the society to stop child marriages. More than 12000 child protection committees exist in Tamil Nadu, they can help to eradicate the issue of child marriage from the grassroots level.”

While the overall percentage of child marriage in Tamil Nadu is lower than the national average, some districts have much higher prevalence of such incidents. Some of these high prevalence districts include Viluppuram, Salem, Perambalur, Coimbatore, Dindigul and Krishnagiri.