Srinagar: To bring down cases of underage marriages, government has drafted an act through which child marriage prohibition officers (CMPO) shall be appointed in various jurisdictions.
Under the act, upon obtaining information about any instance of child marriage, the officers shall immediately take the necessary action.
Titled as “J&K Prohibition of Child Marriage Rules, 2023”, the draft has been prepared by the Social Welfare Department under “The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.”
Under the Act, CMPOs shall include various officers from different departments such as Chief Medical Officer, Chief Education Officer, Block Development Officer, District Social Welfare Officer. They shall be “invested with powers that of Police Officer as prescribed in Sections 156,160,161,165 and 175 of Criminal Procedure Code,” reads the draft.
As per the Sample Registration System (SRS) report 2020, an official source of demographic data at the national level, there has been a slight increase in the cases of marriage under the age of 18. The percentage of underage female marriages in J&K has increased to 1.1 % in 2020 against a lower rate of 0.2% in 2012. The data also revealed that such cases were more common in rural areas than in urban parts of UT.
While talking to Rising Kashmir, Additional Secretary Social Welfare Department, Khurshid Ahmad Sanai said that the status of our UT with regards to child marriages is quite fine in comparison to other parts of India, however, there remains scope for betterment.
While asserting that common people have a greater role to play when it comes to dealing with social issues like child marriages, he said, “Parents must prioritize children’s education and career over settlement.”
He added that for the betterment of individuals and society at large, “only at an appropriate age and when the person is completely ready should the parents’ plan of child’s marriage.”
The upcoming act also orders the District Magistrate to ensure that in every Panchayat a committee is constituted to assist CMPO. Moreover, local priests of any religion shall also hold the responsibility of informing the respective CMPO about likelihood of any such case of underage marriage. The draft further reads, “the govt. of J&K may declare suitable awards for such persons on whose initiative/information the incident of child marriage is prevented.”
While talking about the forthcoming act, Special Secretary SWD, Shiv Kumar added that the act currently is in its infancy stage. “For the next 15 days we will be looking forward to people’s suggestions,” said Kumar only after which “necessary improvements shall be made and awareness activities may be carried out by concerned officers,” he concluded.
