A one-day workshop on Prohibition of Child Marriages Act, 2006 was held in Chamarajanagar on Thursday under the auspices of the District Legal Services Authority.
It was jointly conducted by the Bar Association of Chamarajanagar, Department of Women and Child Welfare, Chamarajanagar Zilla Panchayat, District Administration, and inaugurated by B.S. Bharathi, Principle District and Sessions Judge.
She instructed the officials to spread public awareness on the perils of child marriages and the negative impact it has on the girl who is married off below the legal age. All steps should be taken by the district administration to crack down and prevent child marriages, said Ms. Bharati.
Apart from the negative fallout of child marriage there should be awareness on the legal consequences as well in the public and this will help curb the social evil, she added. Legal counselling on the issue was also available and should be made use of by the concerned parties, said the judge.
M. Sridhar, secretary, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), said greater public awareness pertaining to the existing act prohibiting child marriages was essential in society, and said that the DLSA would readily provide legal counselling as well as awareness pertaining to the act. He said DLSA services were available for the SC/ST communities, women, children, and those with an annual income below ₹3 lakh.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Geetha Huded, said it was a fallacy on the part of the parents to imagine that their responsibility to the child ends by performing their marriages. They should accord higher priority towards the education of their children and empowering them, she added. Ms. Geetha Huded said parents should also be made aware of the kind of exploitation under-aged children suffer if they enter into wedlock before attaining adulthood.
Kiran Padnekar, Chief Planning Officer, Zilla Panchayat, said child marriages were on the rise due to lack of awareness and education, and a joint action plan from various departments was essential to curb such practices. Speakers and resource persons also spoke on the socio-economic factors fuelling child marriages. A poster against child marriages was also released on the occasion.
