(Suparna Ghosh, Intern Journalist), Kolkata: With the imposition of lockdown due to the deadly pandemic, many of the adverse effects are getting visible. Child Marriage is one among them. With the increasing lockdown, child marriage seems to be taking its height too, especially in the districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas.
A source reported that nearly about 198 complaints were received by the state government of which 134 were found to be static. An outcry of child marriage broke from 16th April to 15th June. Sources claimed that South 24 Parganas reported 66 cases while the other district North 24 Parganas reported 63. To prevent such cases, the West Bengal Government has launched helpline numbers to immediately report such.
Calcutta High Court has clearly ordered to scrutinize the fact as it is somewhere indicative of child rights violation. The State Commission Protection of Child Right (SCPCR) came up with their committee members instantly to deal with the rising cases of child marriage. They are of the idea to release strict SOPs in order to check the spike, getting lodged recently.
The POCSO ( Protection of Children from sexual offense) Act was earlier passed by the Parliament in 2012 so as to stop and protect children from sexual abuse, but with people having less educated minds, this act clearly seems to be delusive.
With the economy having its worst downfall, alarming situations like these are yet to be off. Parents are stepping back from taking responsibilities and hence, daughters that are truly below the age of marriage are getting forcibly married in order to control the oppression faced. But, hopefully in these desperate times, “The Kanyashree Project” is of great help and is acting as a stress-buster indeed.
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