JAIPUR: A minor girl from Jodhpur has sought the
state child commission
’s help to stop her impending marriage with a minor boy scheduled on Saturday.
The girl approached her school principal who in turn contacted the child panel following which the wedding was prevented. Apparently the girl’s elder sister was to get married and the parents decided to get the younger one married off at the same time.
Rajasthan state commission for protection of child rights chairperson Sangeeta Beniwal said, “On Friday evening, I was told that the girl, who is around 12-13 years old, was to get married to a boy who is around 18 years old. Her parents wanted both the daughters to get married at the same time and the girl told her school principal about it. As soon as I was informed, I directed police and the district administration to ensure that the child marriage does not take place.”
Officials claimed that children themselves are now more aware and coming forward to stop their own child marriages. Last year in November, a 19-year-old boy had sought help from the state child commission to get his wedding, which was scheduled for November 29, stopped.
The legal age for boys to get married is 21. The boy hails from
Dausa
and wanted to study further.This was the first case where a boy stopped his own wedding. Around the same time there were numerous cases from
Udaipur
,
Chittorgarh
and Jodhpur where minor girls stopped their child marriages.