By Sharanya Gopinathan
This girl from Malappuram, Kerala saved herself and ten other girls in the area from being forced into child marriages against their wishes by their families by secretly phoning Childline, who turned up with the appropriate officers to make sure the weddings wouldn’t be carried out.
The girl was to be married during the summer vacations. She called Childline saying that her parents were forcing her to marry, but that she wanted to continue her studies. The Childline team had contacted Ward Councillor Roshni Surendran, who ignored their request for support saying, as a Childline volunteer said to The Hindu, that she wasn’t interested in the case and had more important things to do than saving girls from being forced into marriage.
The families are to receive counselling, and Childline will ensure that the girls are protected from being married off before they turn 18. Minister for Social Justice, K. K. Shylaja, has said that officials who fail to act on cases like these will face “stringent actions”. Roshni Surendran, we’re looking at you.