NHRC notice to Maha govt, 8 district collectors over rise in child marriage

NHRC sent notices to Maharashtra govt and collectors of eight districts in the state's Marathwada region over reported rising instances of child marriage, a senior official said on Friday

The National Human Rights Commission has sent notices to the Maharashtra government and collectors of eight districts in the state's Marathwada region over reported rising instances of child marriage, a senior official said on Friday.

The Commission has observed that the contents of the article about the plight of the victims of child marriages, if true, amount to a violation of human rights relating to their life, liberty, dignity, and equality of the poor people, especially the women in the region.

The NHRC in a statement said it has taken "suo motu cognisance of a newspaper article highlighting the malpractice of child marriage prevailing in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra due to which a large number of women are forced to lead a miserable life. The article has documented the plight of some child marriage victims in the region".

Accordingly, the Commission has issued notices to the chief secretary of Maharashtra and the district collectors of Jalna, Aurangabad, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Latur, Osmanabad, and Beed, seeking a detailed report, including the steps taken or proposed to be taken to address the issue raised in the news report.

The response from the authorities is expected at the earliest but not later than six weeks from the issuance of these orders, the statement said.

The Commission has also asked its Special Rapporteur, P N Dixit to visit the Marathwada region, collect data, make an in-depth study of the problem of child marriage and suggest measures within three months for better implementation of the law in force, it said.

It has noted that despite the provisions for punishment with rigorous imprisonment extending up to two years and fine up to Rs 1 lakh in the case of marriage of a male aged below 21 years, and a female aged below 18 years, the incidents of child marriage are reportedly happening in many parts of the country.

The Commission has further observed that government agencies have to be "more vigilant and active to take effective steps" to fight this social evil.

The plight of young girls or women who are falling prey to the lack of infrastructure and apathy of the government agencies as mentioned in the article is indeed "a matter of concern," the statement said.

According to the article carried on December 21, the number of child marriages has been "rising in the region" amid social instability, financial constraints, lack of education, rigid religious and caste-based rituals or traditions, lack of natural resources, drought conditions, and "reckless attitude" of the government agencies.

It has also been mentioned that most children go to school only for six months a year and for the remaining period, they keep working in sugarcane fields for their livelihood, the statement said.

The article claims that as per the data, there has been a "sharp rise in the number of cases of child marriages after the Covid pandemic".

It pitches in for an urgent need on the part of the government agencies to take immediate steps to encourage skill-based education like dairy farming, poultry, fashion designing, agro-business, and other mechanical training for the youth so that the social menace like child marriage could be eradicated, the statement said.