The Meghalaya government is contemplating a law to ban child marriages in the state, Social Welfare Minister Paul Lyngdoh informed today.
“We are contemplating legislation to help the government put an end to this major social evil of child marriage,” Lyngdoh told reporters on the sidelines of programme to release a Khasi translation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The minister also said that the state is yet to conduct a survey on the number of child marriages across the state but it is certainly rampant, especially as one moves away from the city.
He said that the Khasi translation of the POCSO Act was released to create awareness among society that somebody who is a child cannot enter in matrimony and therefore anybody who marries a child is culpable under the act.
He also said that child marriage is one of the factors behind high school dropout rates.
“It has contributed to poverty in society. Children who are still supposed to be pursuing studies are already entering wedlock. As a department we have done extensive research and we feel that there is now a need to create a huge social awareness,” Lyngdoh said.
