Birth certificates being insisted upon

Aadhaar cards may serve as a valid document to utilise a host of services offered by government and non-governmental organisations, but child helpline authorities have decided not to accept the cards as age proof after detection of a wrong date of birth on one such card, using which a child marriage was being performed by showing the bride as an adult.

The authorities now insist upon production of the birth certificate issued by the civic body or the SSC certificate issued by the Education department. “Only year of birth is mentioned in the Aadhaar cards issued in the first phase. How can we ascertain whether the girl has crossed 18 years of age on a particular date without the month and date mentioned on it?” asks Mr.B.V.Sagar, programme officer, HELP, an NGO partner of Childline India Foundation involved in the task of stopping child marriages.

“They have also detected some cases of parents declaring a false date of birth while making self-declaration to get the Aadhaar card to solemnise the marriage of child brides,” HELP Girls Advocacy Alliance State coordinator K. Ramesh says on the sidelines of a meeting with key players, including heads of religious institutions, to stop child marriages and child trafficking.

However, they have no problem in accepting the Aadhaar card which displays the full date of birth including date and month, besides the year, they add.

They insist on production of a birth certificate or SSC certificate for performing marriage rituals, says Kandukuri Srinivasa Deekshitulu, a priest at the Janardhan temple at Kandukur.

But in many cases, child marriages are performed without any rituals by exchanging of garlands by runaway teenagers, remarks a priest from P.C.Palli M.V.S.Prasad.

Criminal action

“The social problem can be best addressed only when criminal cases are registered against even those attending the marriage of a child bride,” feels District Child Welfare Committee chairperson G.Bharati.

“Now we have made it mandatory for parents to produce birth certificate before fixing the marriage to avoid the embarrassment of stopping a marriage at the 11th hour,” adds Mr. Pathan Sajid Khan of the Madina Masjid at Islampet here. They have also put a board in front of the masjids saying no marriage will be solemnised for a child bride, adds Sk.Arif, a Qasi here.

After the Sunday prayers, we call for objections to ascertain whether the bride is a major, says India Evangalestic Relief Fellowship pastor S.V.Subba Rao.