On Tuesday, in Vikarabad District, Telangana a child marriage was stopped by the Child Welfare Department, the police, and activists. As part of a caste custom, the two children were going to be married at Mambapur village in Peddemul mandal.
Balala Hakkula Sangham activist, Achyuta Rao explained that the family was marrying the children because of a recent death in their household.
He added, “As per their custom, no relative will enter their house after the death of a family member unless they perform an ‘auspicious event’ and celebrate it”.
Luckily, the Vikarabad Child Protection Unit and the officials made it in time and stopped the wedding before it could start.
Videos taken by the officials show the minor girl bawling her eyes out as she’s put in the back of the police jeep next to the boy she was to marry.
Balala Hakkula Sangham activists criticized them for exploiting children for their superstitions. They also stressed that the state needed to heighten its awareness campaign against child marriage.
After the rescue, reports said that the boy was left with his family while the girl was brought to Hyderabad. The parents of the two children were counseled by the police.
This being one of many child marriages in the state. In February, the Hayathnagar police arrested two priests who married their 13 year old daughter and 15 year old son to each other to keep family prosperity.
Another case of a 14 year old minor who was forced to marry a man four times her age was rescued 4 months later.
According to reports, 25 cases of minor marriages were recorded in 2016 in just Hyderabad while a lot more cases go unreported.
