All forms of violations of human rights are being perpetrated mostly in the case of girl children only. Immediately after their birth, considered as the most unwanted children, infanticide is being committed on female babies, by resorting to the most crude and primitive form of killing like the administration of ‘Kalli Paal’. Again when they grow up, they are being discouraged to pursue their school education and in the result the girls become ‘drop outs’ since their interest towards education is nipped in the bud. When the girl children attain puberty, say at the age of ten or eleven, they are being considered as burdens and efforts are made to dispose of them as early as possible, with an utter disregard to their minority status, their physical and mental condition, simply ignoring their personal ambitions towards education or sports etc. In order to prevent such heinous crimes against the girl children, the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, has been renacted.
But in Tamil Nadu, especially in the Districts of Salem, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri offences against the Child Marriage Restraint Act are common and frequent. Girls considered as a burden by many families in the western parts of the above districts, are being married off even before they finish their schooling. Sadly four such cases were reported in the last two months. Only a few months ago, 13 year old Meena and 15 year old Poongodi were forcibly married off to their uncles in Salem and Krishnagiri respectively.
Last month, the case of a 11 year old Anitha, a Dalit girl, married to her 22 year old relative Annamalai, a laborer, was reported to Dharmapuri District.
Again on yesterday, another case of child marriage was reported in Sappanipatti village in Dharmapuri District. Fifteen year old bride Chitra, a class IX student, escaping from the wedding hall complained to the local police station against her father who is trying to marry her off to her 55 year old uncle who already has a first wife. The marriage was arranged by her husband, in order to beget a child through a marriage with Chitra as his second wife. The girl was keen on continuing her studies, but it is her father Kaliappan, a farm hand, who wanted to marry her off. Kaliappan was caught., on the complaint made by the girl and her aunt.
The Dharmapuri All Women Police registered the case under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929.
Such offences against the girl children can only be stopped by taking severe action under the above act and also by sustained campaign against such heinous crimes.
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