Sonepat:
Haryana's Sarva Khap Jat Panchayat, which has been at the forefront of demanding reservations for Jats in government jobs, today discussed the bizarre suggestion that the marriage age for girls be lowered to curb rising incidents of rape in the state. However, no decision was taken at the meet which was held in Sonipat, about 40 kilometres from Delhi. The Khaps wanted to involve more communities in the decision making process. Another meeting, reportedly, will be convened soon.
Khaps have no legal sanction but often function like kangaroo courts and issue social diktats that are enforced in the villages.
Haryana has been rocked by a series of rapes, 19 in the last one month. And most of the rape victims in the state have been Dalits.
A spokesperson of the Sarva Khap Jat Panchayat, Sube Singh Samain, had hit the national headlines last week with his suggestion that lowering the marriage age for women would prevent rape. He found backing from Indian National Lok Dal leader and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala who said, "I am with the khaps on this issue. This will protect women."
Randhir Singh, chief of the Sarva Khap Panchayat Meham Chaubisi (which represents 24 villages of Meham sub-division in Rohtak), yesterday said that the government should not only remove the existing restriction on the marriageable age but leave the decision on this on a girl's parents.
Under the law, girls below 18 years and boys below 21 years cannot legally get married.
"Let the parents decide when they want to marry off their wards. Girls can be married off a couple of years earlier than the stipulated age of 18 years if they have physically grown up," Randhir Singh had said.
The view has been met with outrage.
"There is no direct relation between rape and the marriageable age. Hence the suggestion cannot be described as appropriate. Besides other precautionary measures, bringing about a change in the mentality of the people is also required to check crimes against women," said Jagmati Sangwan, national vice president of the Janwadi Mahila Samiti.
"The suggestion is entirely wrong and it will give a boost to social evils. The government should make some serious efforts for the security and safety of women in the state," said Jagjit Dagar, district president of the Haryana Janhit Congress' youth wing.
(
With IANS inputs)