A six-year-old girl and a minor boy were allegedly married off by their families in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh, as part of a mass wedding organised in the state. Child marriage is illegal in India under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006.
According to a video released by India Today, this particular wedding between two minor children was part of a mass wedding event on the occasion of Ram Navmi.
This Rajasthan family openly flouts law, gets their 6-year daughter married to a minor. #ITVideohttps://t.co/MSzPOE0iu9
— India Today (@IndiaToday) April 19, 2016
The child, dressed in bridal red, is seen struggling to stand up and walk, as elders help her take the seven holy circumambulations around the fire, a Hindu marriage ritual.
According to UNICEF, India is home to a third of the world’s child brides. A UNICEF report states that child marriage is a violation of child rights, and has a negative impact on physical growth, health, mental and emotional development, and education opportunities.
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