To stand firmly against child marriages, 47,000 marriage tent dealers in Rajasthan have decided not to supply tents for marriage ceremonies where children are getting married. The dealers under “Rajasthan Tent Dealers Kiraya Vavshya Samiti” have decided that they will check the birth certificates of the bride and groom to ensure there are no child marriages.

Besides, if they find that they are becoming part of any child marriage, they will immediately inform the nearby police station of their respective hamlet, village or city of Rajasthan.

Their is a trend that people living in small villages and hamlets marry off their children during the Akha Teej festival in the last week of April and first week of May. These marriages happen rampantly in districts like Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Banswara, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Churu.

In a meeting last Friday, the tent dealers urged 47,000 fellow workers across the state not to supply marriage tents and other things in the marriages if it is a child marriage.

India ranks sixth in the world in the number of child marriages that happen every year. According to the Census report of 2011, nearly 17 million Indian children between the ages of 10 and 19 are married. 76%, or 12.7 million, are girls. Though the legal age for girls to marry is 18, this regressive practice is rampant in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.

The Logical Indian supports the Rajasthan tent traders for standing firmly against child marriages. We hope that this stance will be able to curb down the number of child marriages in the state. We urge every citizen to protest against child marriage and report to police if you witness any such incidents.