Currently, weddings are taking place everywhere, and concerning news has emerged about parents marrying off underage girls. In the past 15 days, the Child Welfare Committee has dealt with 11 cases of intervening to prevent child marriages. One particular instance involved a 16-year-old bride and a 40-year-old groom. Disturbingly, an investigation conducted by the child welfare committee revealed that the adult, who had difficulty finding a suitable partner, resorted to arranging a marriage with a young girl from a poor family.
As per the Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2006, the legal age for marriage is 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys. Marriages involving individuals below the age of 20 are considered illegal and can result in a two-year prison sentence and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Given that it is currently wedding season, the police, child development officers, and child welfare committees are highly vigilant. Upon receiving information about a potential child marriage, officials from various departments, including the police, immediately visit the location to prevent such incidents. The accused are then presented before the Child Welfare Committee for further action. In the past 15 days, the Child Welfare Committee has dealt with 11 cases of child marriage, where all the girls involved were below 18 years of age, as stated by Asha Sherkhane Katke, the Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee.
In the prevented child marriages, there was an average age difference of 12 to 15 years between the brides and grooms. It was discovered that the average age of the brides was 16 years, while the grooms were around 30 years old.
Parents are eager to free themselves from the burden of responsibility by marrying off their daughters before the age of 18. Poverty, concerns about the safety of girls, and the lack of education among parents are the primary factors contributing to these early marriages.