The girl sent an SOS message to the collector's Facebook page, asking him for help; and the collector immediately responded.
The District Child Protection Officer hopes to make a documentary of this case as a success story. (Creative commons)
We live in a country where surgery can be performed using robotics, where Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning rule the digital roost, and where we are the first to land on the dark side of the Moon.
And all this progress happens in India — or Bharat — right alongside child marriage.
On Friday, 15 September, a 13-year-old girl from Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, escaped child marriage by contacting District Collector V Prasanna Venkatesh on social media.
She sent an SOS message to the collector’s Facebook page, asking him for help, and the collector immediately responded. He ordered Child Protection Service officers to reach out to the child.
The child, belonging to the Chenchu tribal community, lost her father when she was a year old and lost touch with her mother after she remarried. She has been staying with her paternal grandparents.
On 15 September, her grandparents were busy celebrating her engagement with a 20-year-old man. But the 13-year-old wanted to study further. She realised that her marriage would be fixed soon and decided to take matters into her own hands.
The child used the phone of one of her friends who came to her engagement and sent a message to the collector, along with pictures of her engagement.
Speaking with South First, District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) CH Surya Chakraveni said, “She knew child marriage was illegal. With a lot of courage, she decided to bring the issue to the authorities’ notice.”
The 13-year-old girl with the District Collector. (Supplied)
She further added, “With the help of sensitisation campaigns, and her own awareness, she could save her life. Not everyone is as alert and courageous.”
When asked how the authorities keep track of child marriages, especially in case where the children are unable to reach out, the DCPO said, “We have our volunteer system, we keep track of households who have children in the age group of 12-19.”
Speaking about this particular case, she said, “Even in this 13-year-old’s case, we were in touch with her family. This academic year, she attended school for only 25 days.”
She added, “When we enquired, her grandparents told us that she had been having health issues, so we couldn’t probe further.”
Speaking about the action taken against the prospective groom’s family, as well as the girl’s family, the DCPO said, “As the marriage had not happened, there is no legal case. The MRO (Mandal Revenue Officer) has filed a bind over of ₹50,000, which they will be obliged to pay if they try to get the girl married.”
As soon as the matter reached the collector, he spoke with the 13-year-old and assured her that she would be sent back to school.
The collector also gifted the girl a bicycle, as it would be easier for her to travel to school. Confirming this to South First, the DCPO said that the collector gifted the cycle out of his own pocket.
“A lot of girls don’t show the courage to stand up for themselves, this girl did. We are planning to make a documentary of this as a success case,” the DCPO said.
“We wish that her story will give courage to many more girls,” she added.
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