Focus on Counseling Boys and Girls to Prevent Child Marriages – Rupali Chakankar, Chairperson of the State Women’s Commission

Kolhapur : Child marriages impact girls’ education and health. To prevent child marriages, schools and colleges should emphasize counseling boys and girls, directed Rupali Chakankar, Chairperson of the State Women’s Commission. She also instructed conducting regular inspections of sonography centers to curb illegal abortions.

A review meeting was held under Mrs. Chakankar’s chairmanship in the new conference hall at the District Collector’s Office. Attendees included Acting District Collector Sanjay Shinde, Zilla Parishad CEO Karthikeyan S., Superintendent of Police Mahendra Pandit, Ichalkaranji Municipal Commissioner Omprakash Divte, Kolhapur Municipal Corporation Additional Commissioner Rahul Rokde, Additional SP Jayashree Desai, District Women and Child Development Officer Suhas Waingade, Zilla Parishad’s Women and Child Development Program Officer Shilpa Patil, Commission District Coordinator Anand Shinde, and other departmental officials.

During the “Mahila Aayog Aaplya Dari” initiative, 26 cases were amicably resolved in the state, the highest number, for which Mrs. Chakankar appreciated the efforts of the district administration, police, women and child development department, legal authorities, and Zilla Parishad.

Mrs. Chakankar emphasized that internal complaints committees have been set up in government and semi-government establishments. However, private organizations need to establish such committees on a war footing to ensure women are not harassed at workplaces. She urged district administration to inspect these establishments and impose penalties if they fail to comply.

She highlighted that domestic violence, internal disputes, and other issues are disrupting family systems. To preserve family structures, the police should focus on counseling through the “Bharosa Cell.” She urged efforts to change societal mindsets to curb incidents like rape and to provide beneficiaries with access to government schemes under the Mission Vatsalya initiative.

Preventing child marriages requires collective efforts, she said, and departments such as education, health, and police should focus on counseling boys and girls. She also recommended implementing effective measures in printing presses, temples, and community halls. Efforts should also be made to address the issues faced by female sugarcane laborers.

To prevent illegal abortions, regular inspections of sonography centers must be conducted, and the health department should launch periodic raids. Acid attack survivors should be provided benefits under the “Manodhairya” scheme.

She raised concerns over the rising number of missing cases in border areas and called for effective measures to address them. Counseling centers should focus on preventing fraud against women and girls through social media. Counseling for school and college girls and women experiencing domestic violence should be prioritized.

She instructed the “Nirbhaya Squad” to ensure the safety of school and college girls and recommended deploying female workers at women’s restrooms in bus stations. Schools must have proper water facilities in restrooms, and ambulances should be immediately provided for “Sakhi One-Stop Centers.”

At the meeting, heads of various departments presented information relevant to their sectors.