Hazaribag Workshop Addresses Witch-Hunt, Child Marriage, and Gender Discrimination

Hazaribag:District social welfare officer Shipra Sinha on Saturday stressed the need to end practices like witch-hunt, child marriage, female foeticide and gender discrimination.She was addressing a district-level workshop aimed at curbing social evils and generating awareness about welfare schemes.The practice of witch-hunt remains a social stigma and offenders could face imprisonment from three months to a year besides fine under the Prevention of Witch (Daain) Practices Act, 2001, she stated.Citing the legal provisions against child marriage, Sinha said parents, relatives, priests, community members and service providers found guilty of solemnising child marriage can face two years of jail term and up to Rs 1 lakh fine. She appealed to people to report cases of child marriage on 112 or 1098.She also warned against sex determination during pregnancy, calling it a crime and asked anganwadi workers and supervisors to ensure eligible beneficiaries avail of govt schemes.