CHILDLINE averts
Child marriage of girl in Tamil Nadu
Nearly
1.5 million girls in India get married before they turn 18, as per UNICEF. Many of these girls come from poor socio-economic background and are
married off at an early age.
Fifteen-year-old
Sunita belonged to a poor family and her father had fixed her marriage with
rich elderly person. But unlike other girls she was lucky enough to escape from
the child marriage trap with the help of CHILDLINE.
During
an outreach activity, CHILDLINE team visited government high school to conduct
a workshop and came across Sunita, 9th standard student. Initially she was hesitant to speak with the
team, but slowly the team made her comfortable and encouraged her to
speak. After some attempts, Sunita
revealed the problem she was facing and asked for help.
The
next day CHILDLINE team visited Sunita’s house and met her father. Her father
seemed to be a rigid man and CHILDLINE team firmly explained him the
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 which stated that child marriage is a
punishable crime. The team counselled Sunita’s father and made him understand
the severe consequences of marrying off his young daughter to an aged man. After
couple of discussions, finally, Sunita’s father was convinced and agreed to
stop the marriage. A consent letter was taken from Sunita’s father that he
would not marry her before she attains 18 years of age. The team was also
successful in convincing Sunita’s father to send her to school.
The
CHILDLINE team was successful in saving Sunita from getting into child marriage
and was happy to see her smiling again.
We wish Sunita all the best for her future life.
Disclaimer : The name and state has been changed to
protect the identity of the child
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