By DPA
Palakkad (Kerala) : Child marriages are rampant in tribal villages in Kerala, a study by a NGO called Thampu has shown.
Rajendra Prasad, president of Thampu, said here that studies were conducted in 20 tribal hamlets – each hamlet has 40 to 50 families – in Attapadi, and all marriages in the last five years were assessed.
“These 20 tribal hamlets were selected from 182 because these were found to have a higher education level than the rest. And our studies revealed that on an average there were four tribal girls from these hamlets who entered wedlock, every year, and was in the 12-16 year age group,” said Prasad.
The study has revealed that there are more child marriages in these hamlets now, and one of the main reasons is the collapse of the traditional, close-knit tribal community structure.
“Earlier, elders had a lot of respect in the community and they used to run the show. In the past each tribal man engaged to a tribal girl was under ‘probation’ with the girl’s relatives keeping a close watch on the boy. Such traditions no longer prevail,” said Prasad.
Prasad added that the government, apart from putting up a few boards, had done nothing to fight this practice.
“The state government’s efforts to control this unhealthy practice have failed to yield any result. Apart from a few boards highlighting the ill-effects of child marriages, there is no grass root work and unless the government machinery acts fast, this could lead to severe social problems,” he said.