Child marriage shows society in its worst light

Photo for representational purpose

A couple's wedding ceremony took a dramatic twist when a team from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and police gate-crashed the event, put an end to the rituals and sent the bride to a children's remand home.

The cops were acting on a complaint that the man was marrying a minor. A report stated that the family could not produce any document showing that the girl was an adult. The police called this a ‘rescue'.

There are some other controversies like a supposedly faulty Aadhaar card and the cops claim they are checking the veracity of the complaint.

Whatever the outcome of this case, the bigger picture is for authorities to act on marriage of minors and other social ills that may still be practised today.

They may be couched in different garb or hidden, but if there is a complaint received, it must be fact checked and acted upon.

It is also important for people to realise that these practices can and do happen in urban settings; these are not relegated or practised in some rural pocket.

We must be alert because many of these practices are targeted at girls and women.

Marrying off minor girls, keeping them under lock 'n' key which means restricting mobility and freedom in a physical sense, pulling them out of educational institutes because they have to look after household chores or be married off, these are just some of the ills dogging society and one that need complaining, reporting and stamping out.

Marriage of minors, boys or girls, is reprehensible, an age-old practice that is counterproductive for both mental and physical health. We also need a robust educational system so that mindsets can be changed, for that is real, lasting transformation.